Chuck vs A Second Chance
by Grayroc
Summary: End of Season Two. Sarah leaves with Bryce right after the wedding. Chuck is left to pick up the pieces of his life. What next, for Chuck and Sarah?
1. Chapter 1

**Chuck vs A Second Chance**

A/N – Seasons 1 and 2 were superb. Sadly, the first half of Season 3, the Ring, the introduction of Shaw and the hideous 'Red Test', it was all so disappointing.

This story will go A/U at the point Sarah tells Chuck at Ellie's wedding that she is going to leave in the morning with Bryce to work on the new Intersect project.

Thank you to michaelfmx for kindly agreeing to edit my story. No ownership of Chuck, or characters is stated or implied.

The Prologue is first person.

 _There_ _is a tide in the affairs_ _of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their_ _life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures._

 _Julius Caesar Act 4, scene 3,_

 **Prologue**

 **May 27, 2009.**

 **Air France Flight 8361-LAX to AMS to Basel.**

Hi my name is Chuck and here are some things you may not know.

First and most importantly - I'm no longer the Intersect.

The Intersect team, Casey, Sarah and I, with a lot of help from my dad, destroyed Fulcrum. And because he's my dad, as well as Orion, he managed to take the Intersect out of my head.

I'm pretty sure that General Beckman was not pleased about losing me as the Intersect and turning down her offer to become an analyst for the NSA. No thank you.

But I must say she was almost gracious towards the end, as my handlers wrapped up the mission and dismantled Castle.

But at the end of the day, I'm finally no longer of any interest to the NSA. They did, however, pay me for past services. Dollars are always better than a bullet in the head. I'm pretty sure they don't know that I know about the termination order. I suspect Langston Graham was the one pushing for my demise, never suspecting that his reign as Director of the CIA was swiftly coming to an end.

Last month my sister Ellie was married to Captain Awesome. Ellie, of course, looked radiant on the day, and my dad was there to walk her down the aisle. Even now, a month after the event, I still get a little emotional when I think back and see Dad with Ellie on his arm, walking her down the aisle, as Purcell was being played on the organ.

It was a good day for Ellie, in spite of the fact that she didn't get her beach wedding that she always wanted. You know the wedding where she had her toes in the sand with the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop.

That day started out great for me but went downhill very quickly. You see, I had this great idea and couldn't wait to look into those deep blue eyes, that a man could too easily get lost in. I wanted to ask Sarah a question.

I found Sarah leaving the bridal room in the church. I asked her if I could have a quick word with her.

One thing you need to know about me is that, even though a lot of bad things have happened in my life that would lead you to believe otherwise, I'm the kind of guy who believes the glass is half full and that you will get the girl of your dreams if you fight hard enough for it.

Now, I freely admit there was a short period of time, about four or five years, that I spent getting over being jilted by Jill. I realize now that, during those years, I may not have been the poster child for optimism. Well, the last two years did a lot to change my outlook on life, mostly in a good way.

Then the unexpected happened. My sincere heartfelt invitation to Sarah to go on vacation with me was barely past my lips when Sarah informed me in a flat, cool tone that she was leaving the next morning to work with Bryce on the New Intersect project.

I vaguely remember uttering some platitude. "Thanks for coming to the wedding." I think I also said, "This will be good for the cover," and then wandered off.

Two giant swigs of some quality champagne, in the empty reception room beside the chapel, gave me enough 'Dutch courage' to go back in and be Devon's best man.

I wasn't going to let Ellie down on the most special day of her life. No, not a chance, not after all she's done for me.

I got through the ceremony. But I felt like Casey had just beaten the shit out of me, which he hadn't because he'd already gone back to leading a special ops team.

During the next several hours, I did all that was expected of a best man, I even had one last dance with Sarah. That was one of the hardest and saddest things I've ever done in my life. We barely exchanged ten words. I mean, what could we say to each other, really?

I wasn't going to beg her to change her mind. And Sarah was never much of a talker, so she said very little except to wish me well and hoped I would find happiness.

In retrospect, I shouldn't have been so surprised. Agent Sarah Walker was a combination of a rare natural beauty plus Amazon warrior all wrapped into one. She was an amazing woman. And to top it all off, she was the best spy in the CIA.

Of course she was never going to give all that up to just hang around Chuck Bartowski, who was making $12.50 an hour in his most recent job.

In baseball you get three strikes then you're out.

The first strike against me was Bryce. He and Sarah had worked together and had been in a relationship. I mean their cover was Mr. and Mrs. Anderson. They had been lovers. Carina put me wise because Sarah couldn't bring herself to share that little piece of relevant information. When I saw them kissing in my bedroom, _geez, I mean anywhere else but my bedroom,_ they looked perfect together. And any doubt about their chemistry together vanished when you watched them dance?

Strike two had to be the mission in the suburbs. I suggested we go back and spend a last night there in the old cul de sac. Sarah's response was cryptic and cold. "Why?"

She quickly put me in my place and reminded me that it was just a cover. No more suburban home, no dog and no cooked breakfast from my loving cover wife. The mission was over, end of story.

Strike three was another kiss, except Sarah wasn't kissing me. She was kissing Cole Barker. And I mean not a just a peck on the cheek. I mean a real full out pour on the passion kind of kiss. The funny thing is I really liked Cole Barker. He was brave and, could take out a dozen Fulcrum agents after a whole day of torture. Looking back, I have to admit Cole always dealt with me decently. Cole and Sarah looked great together.

If I had to pick my poison, I much preferred Sarah being partnered with Cole rather than Bryce. Well, I didn't get to pick. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are once again the premier spy couple.

So there you have it, I swung for the fences, hoping to get the girl. And each time I swung … I missed.

Seriously, I shouldn't have been surprised with Sarah's answer to my invite to go on vacation with me. I mean come on, put me beside Bryce and Cole and do the comparison.

The two of them are everything I'm not. What is it they say? "Water seeks its own level."

So after we danced, I kissed Sarah quickly on the cheek and then went to my room and proceeded to medicate myself with some 18 year old single malt. How is it that something so smooth can burn your throat on the way down?

The next day, just like she said, Agent Sarah Walker, my cover girlfriend, my protector and my dream girl for two whole years …was gone. I was devastated that she left, particularly because she left with Bryce

To my credit though, I handled it much better than I did when Jill kicked me to the curb.

The reason, ironically, was because of Sarah. She had pulled me out of my five year funk, she had built up my confidence in who I was and what I could achieve. She almost single handedly got Stanford to give me my degree.

How could I stay angry at someone like that? I couldn't, but it still hurt badly that she left with that… that bast... I mean Bryce.

My anger over Sarah leaving with Bryce didn't last that long. It changed quickly to me being … well being sad.

Ellie, after she got back from her honeymoon and found out Sarah had returned to Washington to be with her boyfriend Bruce, kept asking me why I wasn't fighting harder to win her back?

Yes, sadly I still have to tell my sister, Devon and Morgan lies to keep them all safe.

Much later, after Ellie had a chance to cool down, she told me to hold onto the good times I had with Sarah and then to move on. Her exact words were, "Chuck, you're a great guy, please get that through your head. For God's sake don't hang around here in Burbank. You've quit the Buy More. Now go and do something!"

So, here I am on this A320 headed for Basel, Switzerland to start my backpacking trip through Europe.

I've estimated that I can easily live and travel for a year before I need to find work. Thank you Uncle Sam and General Diane Beckman for the very kind check you gave me.

Who knows, maybe in a year or so I won't think about Sarah a hundred times each day.

 **September 27, 2010 – Bern** **,** **Switzerland- Offices of Valyrian (GmbH) One year later**

Chuck Bartowski looked up at the clock in his office. It confirmed what his grumbling stomach was telling him, time for lunch. On most days Chuck tried to go out for a walk in the older part of Bern. Occasionally he felt like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, he wasn't in Kansas any more or should he say Burbank.

The only similarity between the two cities was they both started with the letter B.

Bern was established in the 12th century. Valyrian's offices were situated in a building built in 1573.

There was history everywhere he turned. In one of the churches, a plaque listed the names of 32 men who were killed in the Battle of Winterhur, 1799. Their deaths accomplished little as Napoleon and Marshall Ney swept all before them.

Chuck looked out of his window on a crystal blue sky. Chuck pondered the twists and turns in his life.

Being in Bern and meeting Reudi Vischer had been one of the really good things to happen to Chuck. Chuck leaned back in his chair and swiveled it towards the window. He closed his eyes and remembered back a year ago to September 2009.

 _Chuck had made a special trip to Interlaken. He had taken a train up to Kliene Sheidegg (2,061m). He wanted to hike along the trails that would take him near the north face of the Eiger. The main reason he wanted to go there was because of an old movie his dad had liked, 'the Eiger Sanction'._

 _Chuck was standing at the start of three different trails. He was looking at his map when Reudi, with seven other men and women came into view._

 _They all belonged to a hiking club based in Bern. They took pity on Chuck and invited him to join them for the day, which was a good thing because he was pretty sure he would've gotten completely lost._

 _Reudi was the leader of the group. He was thirty five years old, 5 ft 11 inches tall, with brown hair and hazel eyes that were more brown than green. He had a lanky build and seemingly could hike all day and night without flagging._

 _Chuck had quickly discovered that he and Reudi had a number of interests in common. Reudi had a master's degree in electrical engineering and informatics. When he left Zurich University he had started a small consulting company in Bern._

 _Reudi advised companies on cyber security and provided another unique service, one that Chuck was very interested in._

 _Reudi's company would, with the permission of their clients, attempt to hack their systems._

 _Reudi asked Chuck some very technical questions about his background. Chuck easily fielded the questions. Chuck didn't tell Reudi that he was one of the hacker elites. No one, including the NSA and the CIA, knew about his secret life as the 'Piranha'._

 _It was obvious that Reudi was impressed with the way Chuck had answered his questions._

 **Back in the present, September 27, 2010**

Chuck got up from his office chair, grabbed his windbreaker and headed out for a quick walk. He would get lunch in the Bahnof Platz from one of the food stands.

As he walked along the Bundesgasse, he could see that most of the leaves on the trees had fallen. They were heralding that summer was over and winter was not far behind. A soft, cool breeze was coming off the River Aare.

As he sauntered along, Chuck could now acknowledge that a year ago he was just running away. Maybe that was too harsh.

Okay, yes he was running away, but he was also trying to figure out what he wanted to do in a world without Casey and Sarah.

His plan had initially been to travel and hike around Switzerland. After a month or so he would then go somewhere else in Europe. He had money in the bank and the NSA and CIA had no interest in one Charles Irving Bartowski anymore.

He was a free man. But he was also a man with a piece of his heart missing. Sarah Walker held onto to that.

Chuck stopped in a little park and sat on a bench that allowed him to look down into the river valley. In the distance he could see the Alps laid out before him. Soon with the coming of winter they would be covered in snow. Snow meant the ski season.

He wondered if he should try to learn how to ski?

Chuck's thoughts once again drifted back to a year ago.

 _Chuck had kept in touch with Reudi after the day he spent hiking with him and his hiking club. Reudi invited Chuck to join them for several other outings in July and August._

 _Chuck and Reudi continued to talk about hacking and cyber security as they hiked in the Alps on the various trips with the Bern hiking club._

 _After knowing Chuck for three months, Reudi had no doubt that Chuck had very special skills and abilities that his company Valyrian could use. So he offered Chuck a job._

 _Reudi's connections with his client's, and through his father helped Chuck deal with the immigration hurdles. The Vischers were a rich and established family based in Basel. The combination of his client connections and an influential family would enable Chuck to get a resident's permit and the all important five year work visa in less than a month._

 _Chuck was really excited about working with Reudi. That is until Reudi mentioned that all of his employess had to go through a security clearance by the Federal Intelligence Services (FIS) or NDB in German._

 _Chuck's heart was in his throat because he knew as soon as his name popped up the NSA and CIA computers would put up red flags "… shit!"_

 _Chuck told Reudi he was really interested in the job but needed a couple of days to think about it._

 _Chuck really wanted to stay in Switzerland and work in Reudi's company. It wasn't lost on Chuck that Reudi had done exactly what he had dreamed of doing when he was in his last year at Stanford._

 _His dream had been to start up his own company and make a success of himself. That, was until Bryce Larkin got him expelled._ _Then to add insult to injury, Bryce slept with Jill._

 _Chuck was staying at a youth hostel in Bern. He had a sleepless night as he wrestled with what he should do. Finally, at 2 in the morning , he made a decision. He grabbed his cell phone and his long distance calling card and made a call._

 _A year ago he had been given two phone numbers. One was from Casey and, being Casey, he had told Chuck never to use it unless his fingers were on fire._

 _The other number was from General Diane Beckman. It was a private number and she emphasized that he must never share that number with anyone else, only six people knew of its existence._

 _Chuck really didn't want to call the General. She had offered him a job as an analyst and had played the 'your country needs you' card. Chuck had firmly turned her job offer down._

 _He fervently hoped that General Beckman didn't carry a grudge._

 _Chuck wanted the job, so he had no choice. He had to call. He remembered the phrase, 'a coward dies a thousand deaths, a brave man only once', time to be brave._

 _Chuck did a quick calculation and realized it was 6pm in Washington. He made the call._

 _"_ _Beckman secure." General Beckman sounded much the same, curt, efficient and the tone was damn it .. get to the point._

 _Chuck cleared his throat, "Ah, hi General its Chuck Bartowski, I need some advice and I think I might need a favor."_

 _Chuck almost dropped his phone when he heard her response, "Mr. Bartowski, this is a surprise. Please proceed." He was so used to her calling him the asset, that any other form of address was a monumental difference._

 _Chuck then launched into an explanation and the reason for his call._

 _The advice he wanted from her was about the company that Reudi ran. Was it a legitimate company, and was it in good standing? If the answer was yes, then Chuck wanted her to make sure that no one at the NSA or the CIA went crazy when the Swiss FIS ran a background check on him._

 _Diane Beckman had grown to like Charles Bartowski over the almost two years of the Intersect mission. She still felt guilty about issuing the termination order and was thankful every day that Casey hadn't carried out the order._

 _So she decided that the least she could do was help him out. "Mr. Bartwoski, I will send a text to your cell number, if it's okay to proceed with the job. I will need a day to investigate. Is there anything else?"_

 _"_ _Ah, no thanks General."_

 _General Beckman sent him a simple text a day later._ _ **Good company. No concerns. Proceed!**_

 **The Present -6pm, September 27, 2010**

Chuck locked his office door and started to walk home.

As he stood near the train station he was deciding which way to walk home, when Casey's voice popped into his head. _"Patterns make it easy to follow a person. Don't be predictable, change it up, moron."_

So, as foolish as he felt doing it, Chuck took a different route home.

As he was walking down Sulgeneckstrasse, he realized he would be passing the US embassy. He smiled because, from time to time, he missed home.

Down the street, fifty yards in front of him, he observed a tall woman with raven hair being passed discreetly through a small side door to the embassy compound by one of the marines.

He watched the woman for all of five seconds. She was wearing black Levis and a two colored running jacket. It was blue on the front and black on the back. Her hair was done up in a loose pony tail.

He stopped in his tracks and his mouth partially opened. It was Sarah Walker.

She of the two dozen disguises and a hundred different looks, Sarah was a chameleon but Chuck had memorized endless details about her over the two years they had worked together. How, she walked, how she ate, even how she slept.

He could see through her many personas, her many looks. There wasn't a shred of doubt in his mind, it was Sarah.

Chuck felt an overwhelming urge to shout out her name. He didn't. She would hate him for doing that. He also heard Casey's voice. _Moron, you don't shout an agent's name in the middle of the street. Have you learned nothing, while you were with us?_

It was obvious she was still a CIA agent. He followed her and remembered to hang back.

Casey's voice was in his head again. _Never get too close and make sure to stay in their blind spot._

Sarah walked towards a black Peugeot 208. Chuck knew the drill and what she would do next.

He ducked into a doorway and crouched down low.

Sarah pretended to drop her purse and, as she bent down, quickly scanned behind her. There was no one there. Funny, she had felt a presence behind her. She had grown to trust her instincts. But there was no one behind her, the street was empty. She picked her purse up and continued to her car.

Chuck edged around the doorframe and saw Sarah getting into the car. Sarah peeled away from the curb and down the street. Chuck stood there, long after Sarah and the Peugeot had disappeared from view.

Chuck finally got his legs moving and trudged home. His mind was a jumble of thoughts, of regrets, of recriminations and of what might have been. Chuck was pissed off because he had finally made sense of Sarah leaving him. After a year, he had reduced the times he thought about her to twice a day, once when he got up and once when he drifted off to sleep.

Now all he could think about was her smile, her blues eyes, her voice and her touch.

Then the sadness almost overwhelmed him. He couldn't continue to sit here in his apartment. He had to get out. He quickly changed into his running gear, left his apartment and started to run. He ran and ran some more, until his legs started to cramp.

He felt like Tantalus and was very sure that the Gods must be very angry with him.

 **October 27, 2010 –One month later**

Malina was in Chuck's office pleading with him to help her out. Malina's mother was Swiss and her father was Polish. She was one of the programmers that reported to Chuck. Malina was a cute medium height strawberry blonde. She also possessed a Masters degree in mathematics. She was acknowledged by all as the firm's encryption guru.

Malina was also secretly seeing the economic attaché, Janek Milevski at the Polish embassy. Her father Jacob didn't want his daughter going out with Janek. He worried that if they fell in love Malina would leave Switzerland and go and live in Poland.

Jacob had fled Poland and the communist regime thirty years ago. He still held onto some very bad memories and couldn't easily forgive. Chuck had been over to their house once for dinner. He liked Malina and her family. He hated to be caught up in this tiny romantic intrigue.

Jacob told Malina, if you have to go out with a Polish man, go out with that American Bartowski.

Malina held in her hand a special invitation from the Italian Ambassador to attend a formal evening in honor of the Italian President who was in Bern for a meeting with his opposite number in Switzerland. The invitation requested her presence and a Charles Bartowski to attend. Dress was black tie.

Janek had called in some favors and engineered it so Malina would be invited. His plan was simple, once she was there at the reception they could spend the evening together dancing and having a rare date. Once Malina was safely in his arms, Chuck could stay or head back home.

"Chuck you have to come with me, my father will ask me who I'm going with." Chuck had lost his appetite for formal receptions and occasions. It reminded him too much of times past with Sarah and Casey.

Malina finally played her trump card. . If you do this for me, I will loan you my car for three weekends No, wait four weekends next spring when the hiking season starts."

One look at Chuck and she knew she had won.

Chuck grudgingly said "Alright."

 **The next night-October 28** **th** **, 7 :30pm –Italian Embassy –Bern,** **Elfenstrasse 14**

Chuck and Malina presented their invitation to the security team. Their names were crosschecked against the list and cleared to proceed to a secondary receiving line. They were then welcomed by some low level functionary and his wife. Finally they headed into the main ballroom.

Malina was in a shimmering green dress with one strap on the left side. Chuck was wearing an Armani tux, courtesy of the NSA.

During the final days of closing Castle, Chuck had been hanging around Casey. As Casey was doing a final inventory, he took a look at the tux that Chuck had worn on several missions and noticed that a bullet had nicked one of the sleeves.

He turned to Chuck and said, "Here you go Bartowski, I'm going to enter this item as ruined. Take it to a decent tailor and you might be able to salvage it."

Almost as soon as they entered the main ballroom, Janek swooped down and swept Malina into his arms and away from Chuck. As Malina and Janek left, they both turned and mouthed, 'Thank you, thank you".

Chuck was now solo. To ensure the evening wasn't a total waste of his time, he planned on sampling the food and wine. Then he would have a quick look around before heading back home.

There must have been two hundred people in the main ballroom and another fifty or so in the next smaller room. The waiters expertly glided through the crowd bearing drinks and hors d'oeuvres.

Chuck was trying to take in the kaleidoscope of women's fashions and sparkling jewelry. A few of the men were wearing uniforms. Chuck spotted a US Marine Colonel in his mess dress uniform. His uniform jacket was fastened at the neck but cut away to show a bright red cummerbund. Chuck immediately felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him. But it wasn't Casey, so he quickly moved on.

He noticed several women who were truly beautiful, the kind of beauty that stands out and flashes across the room like a beacon above the waves of the average and the mediocre.

He smiled because he was no longer intimidated and left tongue tied by such beauties. Being around Sarah hadn't made him complacent to beautiful women; rather he appreciated their beauty, but he knew they were meant for other men, not him.

He spotted the buffet table and his stomach reminded him that he had missed lunch. As he approached the table he saw a tall, auburn haired woman who was getting looks from several men. She was tall, maybe five foot eleven.

As he got closer to the food table he could hear her speak Italian to one person and then switch effortlessly into German with another diplomat and finally into English with a woman.

The little hairs on the back of his neck gave him the first warning that all wasn't what it seemed. He took another close look and noticed her physique and dress.

She was wearing a strapless dress made of a shiny, slinky golden material. The dress had a slit on the left side. Chuck noticed her shoulders and arms. She worked out, it was obvious if you knew what to look for.

Then it hit him. This woman wasn't merely beautiful, she was extremely poised and confident. At that moment Chuck thought of Carina who could have the same effect on people, especially men.

A thought sprang to mind, _Carina was a dangerous woman_.

He took another close look at auburn haired woman. Another thought flashed in his mind.

He softly mouthed the words, 'She's a spy.'

Chuck left the food alone and quickly moved away from the beautiful auburn haired woman. He wasn't certain why he knew she was a spy or how he knew. He just sensed it.

He went into the other, smaller room and noticed a bar with several small tables nestled around it. He asked for a single malt whiskey and sat down.

He took several sips and promised himself that once he finished this drink he was leaving.

He had learned through experience that where there was one spy, there were usually several more. Chuck didn't belong in this milieu anymore, and it cut too close to the bone to be around a woman who reminded him of Sarah and Carina.

Chuck finished his drink and was about to leave. That was the precise moment he heard the rustling of expensive fabric and breathed in the scent of perfume. The auburn haired beauty sat down beside him.

As she sat down beside Chuck, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that his suspicions about her were indeed correct. And being this close to her, he realized she was absolutely stunning.

She spoke to him in German and introduced herself as Emily Summers. Chuck answered first in halting German and then switched to English. "Hello, my name is Charles."

Emily switched to English, with the faintest of Scottish accents. "Well, hello Charles. I noticed you in the other room. I love your tux by the way, it's Armani, yes? Are you a diplomat? Are you perhaps attached to the US embassy?"

Chuck shook his head and asked her if she was a diplomat. She smiled, "I'm with the British High Commission and so far down the pecking order that they keep leaving me off the phone directory. It's so embarrassing."

Chuck noticed her green eyes and the total focus she brought to bear when looking at him. He needed to leave. No good would come of being with Emily Summers.

He thanked all the God's for the time, he'd spent working with Casey and Sarah. Emily moved her head a fraction to the left and Chuck immediately knew that someone was speaking to her in her earbud. It was obvious to Chuck that she had just switched to full mission mode.

Chuck casually looked away as if he hadn't noticed her change of focus.

Emily reached out and touched him, her warm hand on top of his. "Charles, I'm so sorry. I must run. I forgot my purse in the other room. I hope to see you later this evening." And then she was gone.

Chuck got up and followed her, stopping at the doorway that led into the main ballroom. Emily moved to the middle of the room and turned her gaze towards the main entrance.

Chuck's eyes followed in that direction and then he gave an audible gasp.

Coming into the room was Cole Barker, and on his arm was Sarah Walker.

Chuck's breathing and heart rate shot up. He reached out with his right hand on the door frame to steady himself.

Others around the room were starting to notice the very handsome man and stunning blonde in a silver knee length cocktail dress. The cut of the dress allowed for a plunging neckline. Sarah wore her hair up. It was the same style she wore the very first time they went to dinner. Sarah wore a necklace of single pearls that matched her ear rings. The dress sparkled when the light reflected off of it.

Tonight, Agent Sarah Walker had dressed to be noticed.

 _A/N – I'm framing this story to be six chapters, depending on the interest level_.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N – Thank you to all those who left reviews and those following the story. It is much appreciated.

Thank you michaelfmx for editing this story, all errors are of course mine.

Translation: Flat, another name for an apartment or condominium.

Don't own Chuck, etc.

 _If to do were as easy as to know what were good to do, chapels had been churches and poor men's cottages princes' palaces. It is a good divine that follows his own instructions. I can easier teach twenty what were good to be done than be one of the twenty to follow mine own teaching. The brain may devise laws for the blood, but a hot temper leaps o'er a cold decree. Such a hare is madness the youth—to skip o'er the meshes of good counsel the cripple._

 _Act 1, scene 2 –Merchant of Venice_

 **Chapter 2**

 **October 28th, 7 :30pm –Italian Embassy –Bern,** **Elfenstrasse 14**

Cole and Sarah were the perfect couple, straight off the cover of Vogue. Together, they slowly made their way to the dance floor. The small orchestra played a Strauss Waltz. Cole whirled Sarah around the dance floor. They soon became the center of attention.

Chuck had witnessed this before, in another time and another place. Sarah had a different partner on that particular occasion.

As they danced they were looking at everything and everyone. Checking angles, noticing everything from where the surveillance cameras were and the best door to make a quick exit.

He wondered if there was a Casey clone sitting out in a support van.

Chuck slowly drew back from the door, edged into the other room and put his back against the wall.

As Chuck's heart rate returned to normal he felt a giant pull to go back into the other room. He should go back in, it would be his chance to really see her, a chance for her to see him.

He controlled his breathing. He wanted to be as inconspicuous as possible. Casey's voice came to him. _Why didn't you stay in the car, numb nuts? Then you would be inconspicuous. Serious spy shit is happening here Bartowski, get out of the way._

Chuck actually gave a little snort. Hell, he didn't even own a car. So, shut up Casey!

He looked left, then right for another way out of the embassy. He finally saw another exit that should take him back to the main entrance.

He could feel regret building at leaving, at running away from Sarah. Casey's voice popped into his head _._ _'_ _Keep walking Bartowski, let them do their job'_. He wasn't the Intersect any longer.

He walked quickly down the stairs and out into the cool evening air.

He was certain that neither Cole nor Sarah had noticed him. He was free to go back and continue living his 'normal' life.

So why did he feel crushed and depressed. He knew instantly, the reason was back in the Italian embassy. He now knew that Cole Barker and Sarah Walker were partners.

What happened to Bryce and the Intersect? Chuck walked at a furious pace back to his flat, that question kept niggling at him. She left left him, to work with Bryce on the new Intersect project. So, where the hell was Bryce? Why was she now partnered with Cole?

The wind picked up and withered fallen leaves swirled around his legs. A storm was threatening from the southwest. Chuck had come in Malina's car, he had no overcoat. He should grab a taxi.

Chuck's flat was four kilometers away. But he needed to walk and think.

He hoped the rain would hold off, but he was out of luck. Raindrops started to fall within minutes. He hunched his head into his shoulders and leaned into the wind.

All he had was questions. Questions he most likely would never find the answers to.

A rueful smile spread across his lips. Yes, there was now no doubt about it, the Gods of Olympus had it in for Chuck Bartowski.

 **October 29** **th** **, 1:00am –Swiss Government Safe House -** **18 Selibuhlweg, Bern **

Cole Barker, Sarah Walker and Emily Summers had changed out of their formal evening attire into jeans, track pants, T-shirts and sweaters. Cole had gone to the fridge and pulled out three bottles of water.

The joint operation at the Italian embassy had gone very well.

It was an operation between the CIA, MI6 and the FIS. A year ago, the Swiss government had become increasingly concerned with the Russian oligarchs transferring huge sums of money into Switzerland and their tiny neighbor, Liechtenstein. Where banking privacy laws were even more stringent than in Switzerland.

The suspicion was that there were other Russians, many with diplomatic immunity, bringing in millions of Euro's, US dollars and pound sterling. Not for themselves, but for other high ranking individuals.

The main suspect was Putin and his closest advisors. The CIA estimated that Putin, through his cronies and other minor members of his staff, had taken well over $100 billion of foreign currency reserves out of Russia.

The Swiss government had reached out to the CIA and MI6.

The mission tonight had three simple goals.

First, listen to and record any conversations in Russian. There were ten attendees from the Russian embassy. The conversations would be recorded for later analysis.

Cole, Sarah and Emily spoke fluent Russian.

Second; receive a drop from a Russian asset who had information on Putin's offshore accounts.

Third, each of them would be on the lookout for any candidates from Eastern Europe they might recruit in the future and who could eventually become assets.

Emily Summers, not her real name, had a Swiss father and a Scottish mother. Her mother Mairi had moved to Volketswil over thirty years ago. Her father Carl was a retired Major in the Swiss Army. He had met Emily's mother while on a six month officer's exchange program with the British Army. He had been stationed at Stirling Castle with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regiment, the nickname for the regiment was ' _the thin red line.'_ The name given to them after the battle of Balaklava.

Emily had been recruited in her first year at the University of Basel.

Prior to entering the University, she already spoke fluent German, French and English. She combined her gift for languages with athletics. She joined the track team for middle distance events and continued her martial arts training.

She had been an only child and her father had encouraged her in the martial arts from an early age. At fifteen she had earned a black belt in Aikido. Once she had been recruited by the FIS, she was sent to live with an elderly Russian couple, in order to become fluent in the language.

Emily sat in the kitchen and looked at her colleagues. She had thoroughly enjoyed herself this evening. Cole Barker and Sarah Walker were both known to the FIS. They both had reputations.

She smiled to herself because Cole and Sarah had lived up to the unofficial hype about them.

Emily took a sip of her water. "So Cole, it would appear that you and Sarah have worked together before?"

Cole nodded his head. "About two years ago in the US". Sarah didn't want to dwell on that particular topic. It reminded her of Burbank.

She changed the topic. "Emily, is this your first joint operation with the CIA or MI6?"

Emily's left eyebrow raised a fraction as she wondered why Sarah had switched the topic, but continued, "This is the first time with the CIA, I've worked with MI6 several times before."

Emily sat back in her chair, letting her thoughts drift back to the party.

She had been responsible for receiving the information from the Russian diplomat, Valeri Kharlamov, who was attending tonight's reception.

Cole and Sarah had created a diversion on the dance floor. Emily spilled her drink on Valeri's jacket. As she apologized, he palmed her the flash drive. A text book perfect handoff.

She then wondered about the tall, handsome American in the Armani tux. What was his name again? …. Charles? Yes, that was his name. There was something different about him that she found appealing? She was supposed to mingle, so she had sought him out to see him up close.

Cole caught Emily daydreaming and said. "A penny for your thoughts."

Emily laughed. "The usual, I met somebody who I wish I'd had more time to talk with, an interesting fellow I think."

Sarah smiled her first real smile of the evening. "It's always the way for us working girls, all work and no time to play."

Emily laughed and leaned forward. "He had an American accent, he spoke very basic German. He was tall, say 1.9m, handsome with longish black curly hair. He had an intelligent air about him."

Emily took a long drink from the bottle of water, then continued, "He had this knowing smile in his eyes. For a second, I wondered if .. perhaps ..he knew … Yes, I wondered if he knew I was an agent." Emily looked carefully at Sarah for a reaction.

"Sarah, the CIA didn't have other people at the reception, did they? I hope there's nothing you're not sharing with us? After all, this is a joint operation. We're all on the same side."

Cole looked over at Sarah. Sarah spoke directly to Cole. "Cole, there was no other CIA personnel at the embassy tonight. I swear it."

Cole pursed his lips. "What about NSA?" Sarah shrugged her shoulders. "They might be involved, although this type of mission is a little out of their mandate."

Cole was the nominal leader for this mission. "Emily, did he give you a name?"

"Yes, he called himself Charles." Sarah looked up quickly and leaned forward with renewed interest.

In their mission briefing, Cole had asked Emily to wear a small pendant around her neck. A very small camera was imbedded between two diamonds. The camera merrily snapped away every ten seconds and then transmitted the photos to Emily's phone.

Emily grabbed her phone and scrolled through the pictures. Four minutes later she stopped when she found him. "There he is."

The picture clearly showed Chuck talking with her near the bar.

Cole and Sarah looked at the phone and simultaneously said out aloud. "It's Chuck."

Sarah felt her heart tighten into a fist. She blinked a couple of times and fought hard not to blush. She could sense that the little secret place deep within her, where she stuffed unwanted feelings was now straining at the hinges.

Two deep breaths and a cough to clear her throat allowed her to keep the door shut. To cover her distress she got up and quickly walked to the fridge. And somehow managed to say, "Anyone want more water?"

Hopefully Cole and Emily hadn't noticed her struggles at that moment. Later, when she was alone, she would deal with .. with .. Chuck popping up out of nowhere.

Emily arched her eyebrow. "Who's Chuck? And how do you both know him?"

There was a pause before Sarah finally answered. "For two years I was assigned to protect Chuck. He was a joint asset of the NSA and CIA. Cole worked with me and Chuck and me on a couple of missions.

"He was a great asset, he served his country and we completed the mission. He no longer has any connection with the intelligence community."

Sarah looked over at Cole. "Cole, MI6 didn't recruit Chuck? Protocol between our agencies would mean you would have to get our permission and notify us?"

Cole laughed. "I like Chuck, but he's no spy. Of, course we didn't recruit him. When I last saw Chuck, he was only an analyst. I haven't seen or talked to him since Burbank."

Emily could tell there was a lot that hadn't been voiced. Many things left unsaid between Cole and Sarah.

She was, however, very interested in Sarah's reaction. She was sure that Sarah had blushed when she saw Chuck's photo. She smiled to herself.

Emily cleared her throat and there was a twinkle in her eye. "Before the FIS can sign off on this mission, I will need to check this Charles fellow out and make sure his presence at the reception was nothing more than a coincidence.

"If you're both correct, then I can quickly clear him of any suspicion. Who knows, afterwards, maybe I can mix a little pleasure with business." Emily slowly counted in her head, waiting to see ….

Sarah stood up rather suddenly. Her blues eyes flashed as she looked down at Emily. "No Emily. He's my asset. He's my responsibility."

Cole jumped in, "Sarah, don't you mean he _was_ your asset?"

Sarah knew she had overreacted and could see Cole and Emily smiling at her.

Cole got up and stretched. "Okay Sarah, you deal with Chuck." Just before he reached the door to his bedroom, he turned. "Say hello to Chuck for me. Tell him to remember my advice."

 **October 29th, 2:00am –Swiss Safe House - 18 Selibuhlweg, Bern**

Sarah Walker couldn't sleep a wink. She didn't want to take a sleeping pill. Even though the CIA said the pills were non addictive, she always felt like crap the morning after taking them.

An antique carriage clock sitting on top of a bureau in her room counted out each second, tick, tick. She was sure the clock was mocking her. Each second seemed to remind her of past decisions.

She now needed to talk with Chuck but was petrified about seeing him again. She was, however, consumed with curiosity about what Chuck's life was like. How did he end up here in Bern?

In the past year, she'd stopped herself from finding out about where he was and who he might be with a dozen times or more. It wouldn't be fair to him or to her.

There was no sense in knowing all kinds of information about Chuck, unless she was willing to do something about it. Unless she was willing to really talk with him and tell him why she had left with Bryce after Ellie's wedding.

How would he react to seeing her? Had he indeed moved on? She reached for her phone and went to her text messages. Emily had texted Sarah the photo she'd taken of Chuck at the Italian embassy.

He looked good. Damn it. She gave a little laugh. What was she hoping for? Was she hoping that Chuck would have dark bags under his eyes, desperately pinning for her?

He was still wearing his hair long. God, he looked great in the tux she'd taken so much time picking out for him. Sarah smiled at the memory of the day they had spent in Burbank together shopping for it.

Sarah wasn't stupid, she knew that Emily had initially offered to check Chuck out in order to see her reaction. Sarah, even knowing this up front, couldn't help herself and easily fell for Emily's little gambit.

There was no way on this earth, or any other planet, she was going to let Emily Summers, a devastatingly beautiful brunette, anywhere near Chuck.

Light from a street lamp was leaking through the blinds. Sarah tossed and turned, thinking about exactly the best way to meet Chuck.

He would hate it when he found out that she had sought him out to ask him questions about his presence at the Italian embassy. He would immediately think that she didn't really want to see him, rather it was just Agent Walker doing her job.

How could he know that if that really was the case, she would have let Emily check him out?

No. Sarah had this powerful sense that the universe had brought about this special convergence between the two of them. She had a queasy feeling that if she didn't do something with this opportunity, if she didn't somehow open up to Chuck, she would suffer the consequences.

She shivered at the thought of never talking with him again, of losing his friendship forever. Sarah was prepared to let him go, but she wanted them to part as friends. She wanted Chuck to have positive thoughts about her as he fashioned a new life for himself.

Not to wonder about her or Bryce.

Being away from Chuck for a whole year had afforded Sarah one searing insight.

Being around Chuck Bartowski was like switching on a light in a darkened room. Her life was brighter and happier. The darkness and shadows that existed in her life were pushed back when he was in her life .. she felt .. she felt she could finally take a deep breath.

Sarah got out of bed and went into the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and drank from it deeply. She went back into her room and settled back under the warm duvet. Memories of the turmoil and feelings she had struggled with when she left Burbank arose again within her.

Sarah knew that their first meeting in almost a year couldn't just be about her doing her job. But how would she frame the discussion, how would she set up the meeting?

Outside, a small hammer struck a brass bell in the old 16th century church three times. Sarah continued to toss and turn and groaned into her pillow about what tomorrow would bring.

 **October 29th, 10am -Bern Switzerland- Offices of Valyrian (GmbH)**

Chuck finished off his twenty page report on improvements that needed to be made to Credit Suisse's firewall. He did the report in English. Later, Reudi's executive assistant would prepare a German translation. The 'hacker' team that Chuck headed up had spent the last two weeks subjecting Credit Suisse to 24/7 attacks. They had fifty computers in the basement that had been dedicated to the hacker attack.

Last night, after he left the Italian embassy, the rain had started. He arrived home soaked to the bone. He hoped the tux wasn't ruined. He had poured himself a stiff brandy and sat in his chair to think about this evening. Finally, after an hour, exhausted, he went to bed.

He had only slept for a couple of hours and then was wide awake. His mind was racing, occupied by images and memories that came one after the other. There were so many jumbled thoughts about Sarah, Casey, Cole and past missions.

Chuck realized sleep was a forlorn hope and that he needed to do something else. He got up and went to work at 5am. He made coffee in his office and proceeded to finish off the report that was due in two days. Concentrating on work allowed him to push what had happened last night out of his mind. But his work only provided a short respite, and soon those thoughts once again fully occupied him.

Chuck took the report into Reudi's office. After two hours of discussion, they finally agreed on the final version of the report and then handed the work to Reudi's assistant.

After Shona left with the report, Chuck stared out of the window. The view was towards the southeast and he could see the Alps.

Reudi had to say Chuck's name three times before Chuck slowly turned his head towards him. "Sorry, Reudi, what'd you say?"

"Chuck you seem to be a million miles away. Is everything alright? You look tired."

Chuck paused for several seconds. "No, I'm okay. Probably I'm just worried about the report." Chuck hated the fact that he couldn't be straight with Reudi. More lies.

Reudi had been very pleased with Chuck's contribution to Valyrian over this last year. In April, he'd handed Chuck a generous bonus to acknowledge how pleased he was with his work. Perhaps he had been working Chuck too hard?

Reudi sat back in his chair. "Chuck, you finished the Credit Suisse project ahead of schedule. Would it help if you perhaps had a break? You do know that you've taken only one week of holidays so far this year. Why not take a week off? A number of the passes in the Alps are still open."

Chuck leaned forward. He nodded his head in agreement and smiled at Reudi. He could get away from Bern. He could hike until he was exhausted, get some rest and maybe try to get back some equilibrium in his life. Chuck had to admit that seeing Sarah with Cole felt like someone had hit him in the gut.

Who said 'time heals all wounds'? The man was an idiot.

Seeing Sarah with Cole had cut deep.

The fact that it bothered him, bothered him. Because it meant he was jealous. But he had no right to be jealous; he and Sarah had never been in a real relationship. So, she wasn't really cheating on him. So how come it felt like she was cheating on him?

Maybe it was because Sarah had shown, before she left Burbank, that she had feelings for him.

Chuck remembered when Longshore wanted to take him away. He had seen Sarah's reaction. Sarah kept him from being put in a bunker and helped him find his dad. He most certainly remembered Barstow.

Chuck knew Sarah had feelings for him, there was a mutual attraction. He sighed, feeling an attraction didn't mean you were in a relationship, or did it?

There was no doubt about it, Chuck knew he needed some time away from Bern. Distance from Sarah might help him start to heal this latest wound.

"Reudi, if it's okay with you I will take a week off. Starting today."

Reudi nodded and an idea sprang to mind. He put his hand on Chuck's shoulder. "Chuck, our family has a chalet in Arosa. I'm not sure if you're familiar with that part of Switzerland? Have you heard of Davos? Arosa is almost in the next valley to the west?"

Chuck nodded. "Davos, it's an up scale ski resort, right?"

Reudi continued, "None of my brothers or sisters will be using the chalet until next January. You're welcome to have the use of it."

Chuck immediately said yes to Reudi's generous offer.

He and Reudi worked out the details about contacting the retired couple, Georg and Katrin Aschleimann, who lived in a lower level apartment that was attached to the chalet. In exchange for free rent Georg took good care of the chalet and Katrin was the cook when any of the Vischer clan was in residence.

Reudi sent the detailed directions to Chuck by text. And he gave Chuck one further piece of information. Cell service and getting the internet was very hit and miss.

As they both stood up to leave, Reudi noted one more critical piece of information.

"Chuck, the unique thing about the Vischer chalet is you will have to park your car at the end of the paved road. And hike in the last 3 kilometers. It is situated high up in an Alpine meadow.

"I suggest you take all your hiking gear, warm clothing, including your wet weather gear. The weather can be quite unpredictable this time of year. By the way, did I mention the chalet sits at 2,000 meters? Some people have problems sleeping at that altitude, I hope you'll be okay."

After leaving Reudi's office, Chuck headed to Malina's office and asked her if he could use her car for the next week. He smiled at Malina and said, "If you say yes then we're even for me helping you last night."

 **That same day 8pm , Lorrainestrasse 6,- Bern**

Emily had looked up on the FIS computers where a Mr. Charles I. Bartowski lived and the address and name of his employer. She'd passed that information onto Sarah.

Sarah went back and forth in her mind on where she should meet Chuck. Finally, she decided to keep it as private as possible. So she went to his residence. She would knock on his door. She would take the direct approach.

Chuck's flat was on the top floor. It was an older building so there was no elevator. Finally, Sarah was standing outside his door. She raised her right hand and knocked three times loudly. She could barely hear the knocks over the sound of her heart beating in her ears.

Disappointment and relief wrestled within her when she realized he wasn't there. Or maybe he was there and didn't want to answer the door. No, Chuck wouldn't do that.

Sarah could pick the lock but instead felt around the top of door frame. She then looked under the welcome mat and checked a flower pot that sat outside. There was no spare key.

In the hallway there was a wrought iron table with flowers on it. She investigated it and felt with her left hand underneath the lip. She checked the table carefully and found a magnetized box with a spare key in it. She tried the key in the lock and Chuck's door opened.

Sarah had broken into countless apartments, flats, houses and installations over the last seven years. This, however, felt just a little odd and somehow wrong. But she had a job to do. Besides, maybe something had happened to Chuck and he might need her help.

She flicked the light switch on and slowly walked around Chuck's place. There was a small kitchen to the left with modern appliances. To the right was a room with just a toilet. Off to the left down a small hall was Chuck's bedroom, washroom and to the right was a small room that looked like his study.

Sarah saw the pictures in the hallway. There were several framed pictures of Chuck with a group of seven, no eight people. They were out hiking in different locations. Chuck looked fit and he was smiling. He looked happy.

She went into his bedroom and smiled, since Chuck was still a bit of a slob.

There were clothes laying all about and on the bedside table there was a picture of Ellie and Devon and another picture of Morgan and Anna. It wasn't lost on Sarah that there was no picture of her anywhere to be seen.

Sarah wondered if that was because Chuck had truly moved on. Maybe he had finally taken her off the pedestal he had her on. Perhaps he had wised up that she was damaged goods.

She sat down on the edge of his bed and her hand slowly moved across the duvet. She sat still, looking around Chuck's room for several minutes, memorizing what clothes he owned, what books were near his bed. She was happy to find out new scraps of information about him.

Sarah felt tired. The lack of sleep last night and her nervousness over meeting Chuck had taken a toll.

Finding he wasn't here and dealing with the disappointment left her drained. Waves of weariness washed over her.

She swung her legs up on the bed and lay her head on his pillow, breathing in his scent and closing her eyes.

She must've drifted off to sleep. She opened her eyes and looked at her watch. She'd been asleep for twenty minutes. She sat up again and rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hands.

Her left hand opened the drawer in the bedside table. There was a bottle of aspirin, a Swiss army knife and some gum. She spotted the back of a framed picture laid flat in his drawer.

There was the tiniest tremor in Sarah's hand as she picked the framed picture up.

When she turned it over, her throat tightened and she found it hard to swallow.

It was a picture of them. It wasn't a great photo, in fact parts of it were out of focus.

But it captured a truth that Chuck had noticed.

They were sitting on the couch at one of his goofy movie nights. His arm was around her and she was smiling. What Chuck had seen on Sarah's face was a real genuine smile that had spread to her blue eyes. Very few people ever saw that side of her. And in the last year that included her.

Sarah carefully put the framed picture back in the drawer exactly as she had found it.

As Sarah looked around the lump in her throat gradually disappeared.

She noticed that the drawers had been left partially open.

It was as if Chuck had been in a great hurry. He had quickly packed and left. The thought that came to mind was, did Chuck run away? She quickly got up and checked the rest of the flat carefully.

Sarah discovered that all of Chuck's hiking and outdoor equipment was also missing. A queasy feeling crept into her stomach. She couldn't believe that Chuck had run away.

Shit. _Where have you gone Chuck? And why have you left so quickly._

Sarah made two phone calls. The first one was to a private number.

"Casey secure, speak!"

"Walker secure. How are you Casey?"

Casey grunted. "So what has it been Walker, nine months? What do you want?"

As Sarah remembered the mission nine months ago with Bryce and Casey, a shudder passed through her. "Yes, about nine months." She didn't want to talk about that. "Casey, it's about Chuck. I need to confirm he isn't working for the NSA."

Casey smiled. Could it be that blondie and numb nuts were back together? "Geez, please tell me that you two aren't sniffing around each other again."

Sarah shook her head, same old Casey. "Casey, please. I'm in Bern on a mission. It looks like Chuck is living and working here. I need to convince the FIS that he is just a private citizen."

Casey raised his eyebrows. Chuck had finally left Burbank. Good. The kid was dying on the vine, he needed to leave. "Walker, I would say no. I will check this out with the General and send you a text. I've got to go."

Sarah walked into Chuck's kitchen. It was spotless, with the surfaces uncluttered. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and then went into his study. The more she saw, the more she came to believe that Chuck hadn't run away. But if that was the case, where the hell was he?

Twenty minutes later she got Casey's text.

 _'_ _Chuck is not connected with NSA or anybody else here. The General says her offer still stands for him to be an analyst. Keep me posted.'_

Sarah read the text and sighed with relief. "Thank God."

She then called Emily Summers.

"Walker secure."

"Summers secure."

"Emily, I'm at Chuck's flat and it looks as if he left in a hurry. He's taken some clothes and all his hiking and outdoor gear. The other piece of information I have is that Chuck is not working for the NSA or any other intelligence agency in the US."

Emily was concerned that Chuck had left in a hurry. She was suspicious and she knew for sure her supervisor at FIS would not close the mission file until she had talked with Charles.

"Sarah, Chuck works at Valyrian. You speak fluent German. Go to his offices and find out if his boss, a Reudi Vischer knows where he might be."

Sarah disagreed. "Emily, I speak very little Swiss-German. He'll spot me as a phony in two seconds. I need you to go there and talk with Reudi Vischer. I believe that Chuck is somewhere in Switzerland. I just found his passport in his study."

Emily reluctantly agreed because Sarah was correct that only a native speaker could winkle the information from Chuck's boss. She had the perfect persona and disguise to pull it off.

If Reudi Vischer knew where Charles was, she was in no doubt that she would soon possess that information.

A/N _–_ _Ideas for Chuck stories are ubiquitous. I was in Bern in November, visiting extended family. It was a warm, sunny day and I was on a long walk. I had passed several embassies on my ramblings. The last embassy I passed prior to reaching the train station was the US embassy. That's when the idea for this story sprang to mind._


	3. Chapter 3

A/N – Thank you readers and those who posted reviews, once again it is appreciated.

Michaelfmx, thank you for editing this story and for your valued input.

translation: -hauptfeldweibel , a first sergeant or sergeant-major.

James Mowery pointed out to me, in a PM ,the following quote from 'The Third Man'

 _After all it's not that awful– You know what the fellow said - in Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace – and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock. So long Holly._

 _Orson Wells, The Third Man._

My Swiss relative reminded me that the cuckoo clock came from the Black Forest. Be that as it may, this is still a fun quote.

 _"_ _Next to the wound, what women make best is the bandage."_

 _Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly_

 **Chapter 3**

 **October 30th, 9am –Offices of Valyrian(GmbH).**

The receptionist called Herr Vischer's extension and patiently waited for him to answer. She quickly told him that a Fraulein Anita Troxler from the Canton's tax office needed to talk with him.

The red headed receptionist turned to Fraulien Troxler and said, "He will be with you shortly."

The receptionist stole another glance at the tallish woman from the Canton's tax office. She looked in her early forties. She was wearing a rather severe and frumpy iron-grey skirt, white blouse and matching jacket.

Her black hair had a tinge of grey at the temples. The woman had no makeup on. God she certainly could use some. The woman had dark lines under her eyes as if she was in need of more sleep. No wonder she was still a fraulein and not a frau.

Emily had perfected this disguise two years ago. The frumpy, forty something spinsterish look. A person, whose only excitement in life, was reading the Swiss tax code. Emily did have some subtle makeup on to make her look older. She didn't miss the dismissive look from the young receptionist, who quickly grew bored with her and turned away.

Reudi Vischer invited Fraulein Troxler into his office.

Emily's Swiss-German pegged her as coming from the Zurich area originally.

"Herr Vischer, I apologize for not calling ahead of time and booking an appointment. I'm completing our annual audit and I have a looming deadline. I need to talk with one of your employees, Herr Bartowski, I wonder if I might speak with him?"

Reudi pursed his lips. "I'm sorry, forgive me, but why would you not call him directly. I'm sure you have his number?"

"We do Herr Vischer, but he doesn't answer his phone at his residence or here at work. I've tried his number several times."

Reudi nodded his head. "Of course, yes, I understand. You see Fraulein Troxler, Herr Bartowski is on a well deserved vacation. I insisted he take the time off. He'll be back in a week."

Emily knew the next part would be a bit tricky. "Ah, I see. Herr Vischer, this is most distressing for me. You see my deadline is this coming Tuesday.

"Is there any way I can contact Herr Bartowski. It is a straight forward matter and will only take two minutes. "

Reudi looked apologetic. "Fraulein, I'm sorry Herr Bartowksi will be back in a week. He's in a remote spot and cell phone coverage is very spotty. I'm afraid you're going to miss your deadline."

Emily had the wrong outfit and the wrong persona to try and coax more information out of Herr Vischer. This man was not forthcoming and tight lipped, but Reudi Vischer did know where Charles was staying. Emily had an idea.

She would get no more voluntary information out of Herr Vischer, without making him suspicious. She would have her analysts at FIS find out if Reudi Vischer, or his extended family, owned vacation properties in Switzerland.

She stood up and extended her hand. "Herr Vischer, I've taken up enough of your valuable time. Vielmal Dangge."

After Emily had left Valyrian's offices, she called an analyst at FIS and requested the location of any properties in the name of Reudi Vischer, his father, mother or siblings.

Two hours later Emily had her report. The Vischers had four properties, all held in a family trust. Emily scanned the list looking for the locations that were 'remote'. That narrowed the list to two properties, a small chalet in the Canton of Jura and what appeared to be a very nice chalet in Arosa.

She called Herr Vischer's assistant, Shona Roche. Emily switched to French. "Mlle. Roche. I'm an IT specialist with D'Estaing Industries. We were talking with Monsieur Bartowski yesterday about submitting a request for proposal for a possible project.

"He mentioned he was going on vacation. My question is, should I send the materials to your offices or the chalet in Arosa?"

Frau Shona Roche was a busy, efficient person. She liked Herr Bartowksi and felt protective of him. If Herr Vischer had given Herr Bartowski a vacation it shouldn't be interrupted. Frau Roche switched into French, "No, please send the materials here to my attention. Monsieur Bartowski is not to be disturbed while he is in Arosa."

Emily called Sarah and told her to purchase hiking boots, a good base layer and a waterproof jacket. "Sarah, be ready to go in two hours. I've found out where Charles is staying."

 **October 30** **th** **, 1:30pm –Swiss Government Safe House -** **18 Selibuhlweg, Bern **

Emily picked up Sarah at the safe house in her Audi A4 Avant, exactly two hours later. She was hoping to do the three and a half hour journey in three hours flat.

Sarah hated being a passenger. It represented a loss of control and she very seldom gave that up. However, Emily was a skilled driver and put the Audi through its paces.

After travelling in silence for some time, Emily cleared her throat. "Sarah, help me out. Why does someone like Charles just all of a sudden leave his home in the States and come to a place so totally different, so foreign? He comes to a place where he doesn't speak any of the four official languages. Also, how is it that he suddenly shows up in the middle of a major operation?"

Emily paused and glanced at Sarah. "I know you don't believe in coincidences Sarah, neither do I."

Sarah squirmed in her seat. "Emily, I think the reason Chuck came here to Bern, the reason he left the States, was that he needed to get away … I mean … for personal reasons."

Sarah turned towards Emily. "Cole and I talked before you picked me up. We both now agree that the reason Chuck left Bern so quickly was that he must've seen me at the embassy. He didn't want to chance bumping into me while I was in Bern."

Something didn't make sense to Emily. "Sarah, is Charles afraid of you? After all, he was your asset. Was Charles' experience of being handled by you a bad experience for him? Is that why he ran away?"

Emily knew that some handlers could be very severe with their asset in order to keep them in line. Sometimes they would physically intimidate the asset.

Sarah laughed out loud. "If Chuck knows only one thing in this Universe, it's that he never has to be afraid of me .. never!"

Sarah bit the inside of her lip. "As to why he showed up at the Italian embassy during our joint operation? That, I don't know." Sarah turned towards Emily and caught her attention. "But if my contact at the NSA says Chuck's not working for any US intelligence agency, well you can bet your life that's the truth." Sarah had a definite edge to her voice.

Emily waited for more. But that was it.

 **The same day –approaching Arosa 4:45pm**

As they approached the access road up to the chalet, Emily looked across at Sarah. They had exchanged little after Sarah's initial explanation about why Chuck left the States. Sarah Walker was certainly not a talker.

Emily was now extremely curious about Sarah's relationship with her former asset. She also wanted to talk with Charles. Emily sensed Charles would be far more open and have a less defended persona than Sarah.

They came to the end of the paved road. There were two cars parked in a small area marked in German as _'Private Parking Vischer chalet'_. They assumed one of the cars belonged to Chuck. Who did the other car belong to?

Emily and Sarah got out of the car and took in their surroundings.

Directly above them and to the west there was blue sky. Sunset was an hour and a bit away. However, over to the east the sky was ominous. It was a deep purple color. A storm was headed their way.

They still had a 3 kilometer hike ahead of them. They had to go up 500 meters but because of the terrain, the trail would be back and forth along many switch backs in a dark pine forest and then across open Alpine meadow.

Emily estimated the hike in would take them only 35 minutes. "Sarah, I think we can beat the bad weather headed our way. Hurry up and let's head out."

Fifteen minutes into their hike, the light was quickly failing. The blue sky was gone and the clouds above them roiled like waves crashing into each other.

And then the heavens opened.

It was a mixture of hail and rain that lashed at them, driven by an unrelenting cold wind.

Emily leaned over and almost shouted into Sarah's ear in order to be heard over the wind. "We should be there in another twenty minutes." Emily's time estimate was woefully off the mark. It would take them another hour.

Sarah squinted and wiped the rain from her eyes. She had trouble seeing anything. In the failing light, they could just make out the trail through the pine forest.

Sarah and Emily had faced worse conditions. They were both in superb shape. They were confident they could make it.

Their confidence was misplaced. They went off the trail three times before realizing their mistake and doubling back.

The combination of cold, a fierce wind and a soaking rain was a deadly cocktail that every experienced hiker feared and learned to respect. Sarah and Emily were now in a race to find shelter and dry off before the wind stole every calorie of heat from their bodies.

They needed to keep moving to survive. It was now dark. Going back through the Pine forest in the dark would be foolhardy. They could easily get lost.

Sarah and Emily were now committed to getting up to the chalet. The trail had finally broken out of the pine forest.

They were now totally exposed to the elements on the Alpine meadow. But at least they could see the light from the chalet in the far distance.

Emily could no longer feel her toes or finger tips. Sarah felt chilled. Her waterproof jacket was barely holding its own. Her head and legs and feet were another story.

The one thought that united them was, _'We should have waited.'_

 **Vischer cottage, Arosa (2,000 metres)- 6pm**

Chuck was sitting in a comfortable chair with a cup of coffee, looking out of the chalet's large window. The hail had finally stopped. The rain drummed against the window and the wind howled through the eaves. The storm had chased away the sunset an hour ago.

All Chuck could see in the distance was rain and more darkness.

Georg had insisted that they turn on the chalet's outside lights while the storm raged. Chuck's German was not great, but he believed Georg was telling him that, from time to time, hikers got lost in these storms and the light would act like a beacon. Chuck had a passing thought that no one in their right mind would be hiking this evening.

Chuck leaned forward and squinted. At the very edge, between the total blackness blanketing the Alpine meadow and where the light reached out from the chalet, he saw a flicker of movement.

He stood up and almost spilled his coffee because, emerging from the pitch black as if they had been cast out of the darkness, two hikers trudged slowly up the hill. The wind was pushing them sideways.

Chuck ran to grab his rain jacket and hiking boots. He burst out of the side door of the chalet. He shouted at them as he ran towards them and waved his arms.

They finally looked up at him when he was five feet away. The wool watch caps and the hoods of their jackets were pulled down low and scarves were wrapped around their faces. They looked like drowned rats.

Chuck took a firm hold of their arms. He pushed and guided them up the stairs and into the hall way.

He slammed the door closed. It was so utterly quiet once they were out of the wind. Pools of water quickly formed beneath the two hikers' boots.

Chuck waited until the hikers caught their breath. They both turned away from Chuck. They slowly removed their scarves and woolen watch caps, finally lowering the hoods of their jackets.

From behind, Chuck could now see they were women, a blonde and a brunette, their hair was soaked, along with almost every stitch of their clothing.

When they turned around Chuck's eyebrows lifted up and his mouth hung open. He took three or four seconds to find his voice and even then only managed to croak, "Sarah and it's you … from the embassy … Emily!"

Emily spoke first, "Hello Charles."

Sarah looked at Chuck Irving Bartowski, in the flesh, for the first time in over a year. She wanted to reach out and touch him, make some kind of physical connection with him. But she was afraid that as she reached out he might withdraw from her touch. Her hands stayed rooted in place by her side.

Sarah did manage to speak. "Hi Chuck."

Chuck noticed that Emily and Sarah's voices were slightly slurred. He wondered if they might be suffering from mild hypothermia.

 **Vischer cottage- Arosa (2,000 metres)- 6:05pm**

As all three of them stood looking at each other, in an awkward silence. Suddenly, there was a knock on the inner door to Chuck's left.

It connected the main part of the chalet to where Frau and Herr Aschleimann, the caretakers, lived. The older couple had seen the two drenched hikers from their downstairs apartment window.

Then, before they could react, they saw Herr Bartowski run outside, in the lashing rain and wind, to gather the two hikers in like a mother hen.

Frau Katrin Aschleimann took one look at the two female hikers and in German started snapping out orders, as if she was a _'hauptfeldweibel'_.

"My God, you're both soaked to the skin. Georg, go fill the bathtub with warm water, not too hot! Herr Bartowski, go to the fridge and heat up the soup I left for you.

Then she turned to Emily and Sarah. "Now, you two come quickly into this room. We need to get those wet clothes off of you instantly."

Everything was happening very suddenly around Chuck. He just stood there, a little dumbstruck. One minute he's drinking coffee and relaxing, the next minute, Sarah and Emily show up, half drowned. And now he has Katrin snapping orders at him in German.

Frau Aschleimann saw Chuck just standing there. In broken English she snapped an order to Chuck. "Soup! Heat the Soup ..now!

Katrin pushed Emily and Sarah into the room.

The room had two twin beds, dark brown hardwood floors with a large Persian rug. Along the wall was an armoire with bathrobes, linens and towels. "Take off your clothes immediately." She hurried to the armoire and grabbed two thick towels and two bathrobes to wrap them in once their wet clothes were off.

Both women had been on the edge of hypothermia for the last twenty minutes. It was only their exertions getting up the path that kept them on the right side of that very fine line.

Now that their trek up the path had ceased, their internal body temperature dipped and they started to shiver.

As Sarah and Emily peeled off their wet clothes their hands shook. Both of them tried to discreetly hide their handguns in with their discarded clothes.

Their frozen fingers betrayed them. First Emily's P226 and then Sarah's Smith & Weston fell with a dull thud onto the Persian rug.

Everyone froze. Katrin's eyes grew wide with fright and she took two steps back, ready to turn and flee.

Emily was shivering and her words were slurred, as she fumbled with her ID pack. "Frau Aschleimann. I ..I ... am a Federal officer, as is my colleague."

"My .. name is .. Emily Summers. Here is my identification folder. I'm with Nachrichtendientst des Bundes. My colleague and I are required by law to always carry our weapons."

Perhaps it was because they were both shivering and looked so pathetic, or maybe it was because elderly Swiss citizens had it engrained within them to respect authority. Whatever the reason, the fright in Katrin's eyes lessened.

Katrin reached out with a shaking hand and looked at the NDB card and photo. She studied it closely and then looked at Emily.

Emily, with shaking hands, then just managed to pull out a business card with a phone number.

"Here is a number you can call if you wish to confirm who I am. We are not here on official business. My friend here Fraulein Walker is a good friend of Herr Bartowski. We wished to surprise him but got caught in the storm. I sincerely apologize if we have frightened or alarmed you."

Sarah followed most of the conversation. Katrin visibly relaxed with Emily's story, which was a mixture of truth and lies. But what could you expect from a spy?

Emily and Sarah wrapped their arms around their chests as they stood naked in front of Frau Katrin and shivered.

Katrin laid her suspicions aside and moved into action. "Quick. Get into these bathrobes. Wrap these towels around your heads!"

She then marched them into the bathroom. Emily got into the bath and Sarah headed for the shower.

Katrin nodded her head in approval. "When you're ready, come into the kitchen and get some hot soup into your stomachs."

Katrin paused at the bathroom door and turned her head. "For Swiss intelligence agents you both did an incredibly stupid thing coming out in the storm, even if Herr Bartowksi is a good friend." She was shaking her head as she closed the door.

Katrin went into the kitchen and checked that the table was set properly and the soup was simmering. She turned towards Chuck. "They will need bread also." She said in broken English.

Katrin then grabbed Georg by the arm and said goodnight to Chuck.

She wondered how it was this young man had two beautiful Federal officers risking their lives, merely to visit with him. She simply didn't understand this generation of young people.

She would call the phone number and confirm Fraulein Summers was a Federal Officer, once she got back to their apartment. One never knew if their cell phone would work up here.

 **One Hour Later**

Emily, Sarah and Chuck sat around the oak kitchen table. Chuck waited patiently for them to eat their soup. He got up from the table and went into a large open room with a vaulted ceiling and started a fire in the stone hearth.

Sarah kept her head down as she finished her soup, she and Chuck made eye contact just twice. Sarah was not a shy person. She had stared down terrorists. She had not flinched when looking death in the eye on several occasions.

So why was she having such difficulty in maintaining eye contact with Chuck. What the hell was that about? The other thing that bothered her was she had lost the ability to look at him and know what was going on in his mind.

Chuck wasn't doing much better in the maintaining eye contact department. He was ridiculously glad to see Sarah but he also felt the rumblings of anger brewing within him. The feelings of anger were about why was Sarah here with another spy? What did they want from him? This sure wasn't just a social call.

When it appeared that they were almost finished with their soup, Chuck got up and grabbed three brandy sniffers. He poured a generous portion of Armagnac into each glass.

He slid a glass in front of Sarah and then Emily. Chuck then went into his room to get something. He came back quickly with two long sleeved T-shirts. He handed a shirt to each of them.

"All your clothes are soaked, including the stuff you had in your light hiking backpacks. I thought .. in case there aren't any pajamas in your room .. you might need these."

He then sat down and waited. The silence was becoming very uncomfortable.

Emily sniffed the Armagnac and then took a sip.

She sat back and focused her green eyes on Chuck. "Charles, who are you working for? What was your mission at the Italian embassy?"

Sarah looked at Chuck. "Chuck, Emily works for the FIS. Cole and I have told Emily that you were once an asset for the NSA and CIA. And … I was .. your …uhm.."

Chuck jumped in. "… you mean my handler."

Chuck bit back a flash of anger. He clenched his jaw and looked away.

He turned back and looked directly at Emily. "So, the two of you chase me half way across Switzerland, risk your lives in a storm that any rookie would have never gone out in, because … because you're worried that I'm some master spy. God, preserve me from such idiocy and suspicion."

He shifted his gaze to Sarah,

"I haven't seen or heard from you for more than a year. Not a single word. But when it comes to your job you finally come looking for me?"

Now he was really pissed. His voice getting louder by the moment, he continued. "Right, okay. I was at the damn Italian embassy because my colleague Malina is in a forbidden romance. I wasn't aware that constituted a federal crime?"

Chuck spoke quickly and, in the next twenty minutes, gave them the background about why he was at the embassy and his actions immediately afterwards.

Emily listened carefully and waited for him to finish. "I have another question. You, somehow knew I was an agent? How? I'm very good at my job. Who told you I was an agent?"

Chuck had calmed down as he told his story.

A smile played at the corner of his mouth because he realized he was now dealing with Emily's ego. "Of course I knew you were an agent. But no one had to tell me. I worked with two of the best agents in the business for almost two years. I came to know how an agent walks, how they talk. There even came a time, not that long ago, when I could even tell what they were thinking."

He stole a glance at Sarah.

"Also, on a more subjective level, I can sometime sense this aura that undercover agent's give off. I call it essence of 'this person is a real bad ass'."

Chuck reached out for his glass and finished off his Armagnac. "One more thing Emily, you _are_ very good at your job. I could see that right away. However, you need to be a little more careful using the earbud. You touch your jaw very lightly with your finger when someone is communicating with you."

Chuck then stood up. "Unless there are any more questions agents, I'm going to bed."

There was dead silence. Emily was pondering whether she really did touch her jaw. Sarah just looked up at him. Chuck hated when Sarah had that neutral, non committal look in her eyes. "Well then, you now know the layout of the chalet, make yourselves at home. Goodnight."

Chuck wanted to ask Sarah at least a dozen questions. But he was too tired and unsettled at seeing Sarah again to even try. He was weary about being entangled in the world of spies and Lord help him, beautiful, but deadly, women agents.

When Chuck left the room, Sarah's shoulders sagged noticeably. She got up and grabbed the Armagnac and splashed a little more into her snifter. She held up the bottle to Emily, who nodded yes.

They got up from the table, cleared the dishes into the sink and headed into the other room, sitting on another Persian rug in front of the fire.

Emily spoke first, but switched to Russian. "This conversation will be for our ears only. Sarah, I'm now confident that Charles is not a spy. I think he's a very open man and a kind man."

Sarah nodded. "His honesty, kindness and forthrightness can be disarming. By the way Emily, please don't think this condescending, but he is correct about your 'tell' with the earbud."

Emily laughed. "Honestly, I didn't know that. Really? Shit!"

Emily then turned serious. "I'm concerned about one aspect of his story."

Sarah sighed. "Yes, I think the attaché Janek from the Polish embassy needs to be checked out carefully. I smell a 'honey trap' regarding his attentions towards Malina."

The fire crackled and a hot ember hissed and hit the fireguard. Emily stretched her back.

"Sarah, I think you care for Charles very much. Why are you sitting here with me instead of going and talking with him? I know you're dying to talk with him. You do know you are not the only agent who has developed feelings for an asset."

Sarah waited to let Emily fill the silence.

Emily sighed. Normally that would have been the end of that line of discussion. But it was very seldom she could talk with another female agent who had done what she had done. A woman who had lived the life of a spy. Someone who had handled an asset and wasn't in the FIS.

Emily looked into the flames as they danced around the wood. "His name was Jan. I was just a newly qualified field agent. He was a junior banker who had knowledge of certain Iranian transactions that the FIS were concerned about. He was my height, blonde with dark blue eyes and handsome. He had a tiny scar on the left side of his face near his jaw. I can still remember what it was like to touch it.

"I was with him for four months. At the end of a successful mission he was given a new identity and funds to start a new life in France, similar to your witness protection.

"We had crossed that line as handler and asset. We had become lovers. I knew he loved me. When the mission was wrapping up, Jan asked me to go with him to France. I had to make a choice. I was at the start of my career. I had all these plans. On top of all that, I didn't want to leave my country. I love Switzerland. So….we parted."

Sarah asked, "Did you love Jan?"

Emily was quiet for several heart beats. "Yes, I think I did. It was four years ago. But maybe, perhaps, I didn't love him enough. The funny thing was I never told Jan my real name."

Emily breathed in deeply and took a sip of her Armagnac. "But, we live with our choices."

Sarah stood up and went to a chair and sunk into its well padded comfort. She leaned her head back and felt waves of fatigue flow over her.

"I finally admitted to myself that I loved Chuck on the 564th day of our mission."

Emily laughed. "My God and I thought we Swiss were precise."

Sarah laughed out loud. "Mission log, we keep a daily log." As the laughter faded Sarah grew pensive.

"It scared the hell out of me. Because I had no idea what do to about it. I was involved in the most important mission of my life. My job was to protect Chuck. Believe me when I say that he was almost killed a dozen times or more. I needed to keep my focus. I couldn't afford to admit how I felt about him?."

Emily moved to a chair opposite Sarah. "But at the end of the mission you obviously chose not to be with him. I assume it was now safe for you to be with him. It was safe to tell him?"

Sarah gave Emily a ghost of a smile. "I know Chuck loves me. I've never really told him how I feel about him. In one sense, he knows me better than any man I've ever met. And in another sense he knows very little about my life before I met him. He doesn't even know my real name."

Sarah gave Emily a sad look. "He once begged me to give him one little piece, some scrap of information about myself. He asked me what my middle name was."

Emily saw Sarah's eyes grow moist. Sarah looked away and then back at Emily. "During the time we were together Chuck put me on a pedestal. When I was first assigned by the CIA to get to know him, I told Chuck that I had just got out of a personal relationship and that I came with a lot of baggage. He offered to be my personal baggage handler."

Sarah swirled the Armagnac in her snifter and finished it off. "What Chuck doesn't know is that my personal baggage would quickly overwhelm him, it would crush him. And at the end of the day, it would crush any love he ever felt for me."

Sarah felt her throat tighten and knew if she continued talking she might start tearing up. That wasn't going to happen. Not now and not in front of Emily. So she stopped talking and looked deep into the fire.

Emily didn't ask any questions and was lost in her own thoughts. She sometimes wondered how a field agent ever got together with a 'normal' person. There would be so many gaps, so many no go areas. She sympathized with Sarah.

Emily yawned. "We can head back in the morning and give Cole an update. I'll close the mission file on the embassy. And of course we can start to sift through Janek's background. We may even have to question Malina at Chuck's work."

Sarah was listening and initially nodded in agreement. However, a little voice in the back of her head kept prodding her. It whispered to her.

Sarah cleared her throat. "Emily, I need to stay here for two or three days. I .. uh ..need more information on Malina and Valyrian." Sarah's real reason for staying was patently obvious to Emily. She said nothing.

Emily stood up. "Alright Sarah, I'll tell Cole you need to .. to question Charles more closely." Sarah jerked her head up, looking at Emily to see if there was some hidden meaning behind her words.

Emily gave Sarah a neutral look.

 **Next Morning 9am Vischer Chalet -Arosa**

Katrin had come into the main flat at first light. She cleaned the dishes, set the table for three people and left cereal, homemade bread, cheese and bircher muesli.

The phone call Katrin made last night confirmed that Emily Summers was a Federal officer. The person on the other end of the phone asked Georg and Katrin to render any assistance they could to Fraulein Summers and her friend.

Chuck was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee when Emily and Sarah joined him for breakfast. They were still in their bath robes. A quick round of good mornings was followed by Chuck making them coffee. His eye contact with Sarah was kept to a minimum.

They were both eating when Chuck pointed to two bags. "Katrin has dried your clothes and hiking shoes. As you can see the storm has passed. The temperature has gone up to 12C, looks like it's going to be a lovely autumn day."

Emily grabbed some bread. "Charles, I believe what you told us last night. I'm very sorry that you were caught up in our mission. I now see it truly was a coincidence."

"Let me share a tiny bit of classified information with you. The mission went very well, so, 'no harm, no foul', as they say.' I'll be leaving after breakfast, to return to Bern."

Chuck gave Emily a broad Bartowski smile. "Good, I'm glad that's behind me. Listen, when you both head down the path, please be careful. Georg tells me that with all the rain last night, the footing in some places will be treacherous. He's left two walking sticks out on the porch that he insists you use."

Sarah spoke over the rim of her coffee cup. "Chuck, I'm going to stay here for a little longer. I .. I hope that's alright." As Sarah finished her request she hoped that he hadn't heard the tiny tremor in her voice. What would she do if .. Chuck .. asked her to leave with Emily?

Chuck had been prepared for Sarah to leave with Emily.

He'd spent another restless night, tossing and turning, his mind racing and his stomach churning, as he thought about her leaving him once again. Mission complete, it was time for Agent Walker to move on.

But he'd been wrong. Sarah wanted to stay!

Chuck wasn't trained to hide his feelings. A small smile played at the corners of his mouth and his brown eyes lit up. But the smile disappeared quickly. He wondered what she wanted to talk to him about.

The question that danced on his lips was .. Why? Why are you really staying?

Instead of asking the question he mumbled, "Ahh .. sure .. okay. As you can see there's two spare bedrooms."

 _A/N- Okay, I'll close the chapter here. Chapter 4 is written and is in redraft and editing._


	4. Chapter 4

A/N- Thank you for hanging in there. I'm a slow writer and do several drafts. I'm very appreciative of the reviews that you leave and the time you take to read this story.

Michaelfmx, thank you for editing this story and your valued input.

 _Our doubts are traitors_ _  
_ _And make us lose the good we oft might win_ _  
_ _By fearing to attempt_ _…_

 _-Measure for Measure, Act 1, Scene IV_

 _Commitment offers one of the great luxuries of life: time._

 _-Esther Perel._

 **Chapter 4**

 **October 31, 2010- 9:00am Vischer Chalet -Arosa**

 _From Chapter 3_

 _Chuck had been prepared for Sarah to leave with Emily. He'd spent another restless night, tossing and turning. His mind racing and his stomach churning as he thought about her leaving him once again. Mission complete, it was time for Agent Walker to move on._

 _But he'd been wrong. Sarah was staying!_

 _Chuck wasn't trained to hide his feelings. A small smile played at the corners of his mouth and his brown eyes lit up. But the smile disappeared quickly. He was at a loss about what she wanted to talk to him about._

 _The question that danced on his lips was .. Why? Instead of asking the question, he mumbled, "Okay .. sure … as you can see there are lots of spare rooms."_

 **October 31, 2010- 9:30am Vischer Chalet -Arosa**

Chuck insisted that he and Sarah walk down the trail with Emily to her parked car. He turned to Sarah and said, "If you're up to it, there's a hike I want to do after we drop Emily at her car.

Sarah nodded and grabbed her light backpack, watch cap and scarf. Georg had dried and cleaned her hiking boots.

Georg had been correct about the trail, twice they had to improvise to get around washed out portions of the trail.

The three of them reached Emily's Audi and the paved road an hour after they had set out from the chalet.

Emily, as she was getting in the car, turned towards Sarah and switched to Russian. "I'll tell Cole that you are exploring the possibility of a romantic relationship more deeply."

Sarah narrowed her eyes at Emily.

Emily flashed an innocent smile. "I meant the romantic relationship between Malina and Janek."

In English Sarah said, "I'll see you in Bern."

Emily's car disappeared down the road, leaving an awkward silence in its wake. Chuck broke the silence. "Sarah, I came here to hike. If you're up to it I want to go east and reach that ridge."

Chuck pointed in the direction of the Weisshorn, a peak that was over 4,000 meters in height. He then moved his finger 90 degrees to the right. "We're headed there. We can swing up to that pass at about 3,000 meters. Then circle back to the chalet. "It'll take about six, maybe seven hours."

Chuck raised his eyebrows to see if Sarah was on board.

Sarah knew Chuck was testing her, seeing if she was up for it. "Lead the way, Chuck. Looks like a nice walk." Sarah silently mouthed, _'Shit, I wish these weren't new hiking boots_.'

Chuck touched his hiking backpack. "Frau Aschleimann made some lunch for me. I'm sure there's enough for the two of us. I've brought lots of water, let's go." Chuck quickly wheeled around and set out at a brisk pace.

Two hours later, they sat near the top of the pass and found a small niche between two large boulders. The little hollow between the boulders allowed them to sit down, sheltered from the wind.

Across the valley they could see the Weisshorn. Sarah had dutifully followed Chuck along the trails and, apart from sharing some water with him, little was said between them.

Chuck pulled out the lunch Frau Aschleimann had made for him and divided it. He gave Sarah her half. They ate in silence for several minutes.

Finally, Chuck started the conversation. "I was surprised to see you with Cole at the Embassy. Are you two partners now?"

Sarah had been waiting for hours for him to start a conversation. What the hell happened to the Chuck who talked all the time to hide his nervousness?

"Chuck, I hadn't seen Cole since Burbank. The CIA needed a female agent who spoke German, French and Russian. I had just completed another mission in Bern. So, I got the nod. It's as simple as that. Cole and I aren't partners."

Chuck smiled at her. Sarah cocked her head to ask, _'Why are you smiling?'_

Chuck gave a small laugh, "About a month ago, I saw you leave the US embassy. You had raven black hair. I can't remember if I ever saw you disguised as a brunette on any of our missions…..you know , when we were a team. Interesting look. "

Sarah arched her eyebrows at his last comment.

"You were wearing that black and blue jogging jacket, the one you had in Burbank. I then saw you get in and drive away in a Peugeot."

Sarah slowly shook her head from side to side. She smiled back at him.

"So, there was someone following me. It was you! I sensed someone was watching me, but I couldn't spot anyone…I guess you've learned a trick or two along the way.

"Yes, that was a mission" Sarah was about to tell him, just like the old days in Burbank. She hesitated. "… well .. perhaps I shouldn't say anymore about it … you know…"

Chuck nodded. "Yeah, I know it's classified." They continued eating in silence. Chuck turned his head away from her and stared across the valley.

Sarah was kicking herself for playing the 'it's confidential' card.

Sarah was dreading Chuck asking the really tough question. Waiting for Chuck to ask the question that would create a huge chasm between the two of them.

Chuck didn't disappoint her. "Sarah, why aren't you with Bryce. I mean, that's why you left Burbank, to once again be the perfect spy couple?"

Sarah closed her eyes for a moment. Then she looked him directly in the eye. "Chuck, you're wrong. I mean yes, I left, but it wasn't to recreate my past with Bryce. It's complicated."

As the words slipped past her lips Sarah knew that came out the wrong way. Plus her tone was all wrong, shit!

Chuck moved his head back just a fraction. He obviously hated her using the phrase _'_ _it was complicated'._

Sarah took a deep breath. "Leaving Burbank….wasn't easy for me. But…but you expected too much of me. You wanted me to leave my job. Just give it all up and stay with you, right?"

Chuck could feel the heat in his neck and face sparked by him getting angry.

"Hold on, as I recall it, I asked you to go on vacation with me. Who said I asked you to quit your job? Maybe that's what you heard inside your head, but it wasn't what I said. I mean, even the CIA allows agents to take a vacation?"

Sarah was exasperated, but she tried hard to keep it out of her voice. "Sure they do, but not at a moment's notice? But that's not the point. I know what you really wanted Chuck. You'd never be really happy with me coming and going from your life as I continued to be a spy. Months apart, and when I got back we couldn't talk about what I'd been doing. And then, in a week or two, I would be away again.

"How would we explain that to Ellie, Devon and Morgan?

"Eventually, you'd want more."

Chuck shook his head. "Wow … I never asked you to do any of that! You didn't talk to me about any of that. I had no idea what you were thinking. You just told me you were leaving, leaving with Bryce."

Chuck pursed his lips. "Sarah, if you have conversations with me in your head and you anticipate everything I'm going to say … then what do you need me for? But when you do that, you do us both a disservice.

"You can't possibly know what I'm going to say unless you actually talk with me, which you never, EVER do! Instead, you have these monologues with yourself and .. then .. piss off to God knows where." Sarah moved away from Chuck as he finished, his voice getting progressively louder as he spoke.

Chuck sensed Sarah moving away from him and was immediately struck by regret that he had allowed his frustration to spill over like that. So he took a moment to calm himself, taking a couple of deep breaths.

"Sarah, sorry about that last bit. What, I should have said is let's at least talk about what's going on in your head. You asked me to trust you and I did, with my life. Why can't you trust me enough .. to .. shit! .. to talk with me.

Sarah stood up and brushed past him and stepped out of their sheltered space into the wind. The wind caught her hair and hid her face. But Chuck didn't need to see her expression, he knew Sarah was upset.

Sarah walked around for a couple of minutes and came back into their little niche between the boulders and sat down.

"I know you Chuck! You wanted me to be that special woman, the woman of your dreams. You put me on a pedestal. Well, guess what that person doesn't exist.

"The woman you first met in the Buy More? I made her up, because I knew you would like her. You think you know me, but you don't, not really. Not what I've done, who I've been."

The last couple of minutes had taken their toll on Sarah. Talking with Chuck like this made her open up compartments deep within her. She had spent years stuffing unwanted feelings into these rooms and had managed to keep the doors closed .. until now.

Chuck had shifted his position and moved closer. "Again, Sarah, all I asked from you was to go on vacation with me. And by the way, if I don't know you, it sure wasn't for lack of trying. My God, the Sphinx would tell me all of its secrets before you'd tell me your middle name."

Sarah was stung by his angry tone. She wasn't nearly as good at this verbal sparring as Chuck was, but she had a temper and her cheeks felt hot.

They both drew back from each other, like boxers who needed some space.

Chuck took a few deep breaths to quiet his anger. "Okay, let me see if I can rephrase the question. "Why aren't you with Bryce?"

Chuck's gaze was locked on Sarah's face. As if he could get the answer to his question by looking deep enough into her eyes. The only sound Chuck could hear was his own breathing.

Sarah Walker drove Chuck crazy. It now came back to him, the times in Burbank. Sarah had this ability to fix a neutral look in her eyes that gave absolutely nothing away.

Chuck's patience snapped. "Fine, have it your way…. finish your lunch and let's start hiking again."

Sarah let out a big sigh, the neutral look faded from her eyes. Something shifted inside her.

She'd tell him. In a way, he had a right to know. It would break twenty or thirty rules and laws. The CIA could put her in jail for twenty years. The ironic thing was that, Chuck still knew more secrets than 80% of the people who worked in US intelligence.

Sarah took calming breaths, similar to what she would do just before doing a HALO jump. "Chuck, let's start walking. It's easier for me to tell you about Bryce if we're walking."

Chuck packed up the remains of their lunch. He carefully policed the area to make sure they didn't leave any trash. They put their light weight hiking backpacks on and headed out to the trail.

Chuck had said before they stopped for lunch they only had 10km to go.

They were now walking side by side on the trail, across Alpine Meadow. Up above them, plump white cirrus clouds glided past them to the west.

Sarah organized her thoughts. "The upload of Intersect 2.0 went off without any apparent problems. Bryce was groggy for about a day and a night.

"The next day, after more testing, he was cleared to start missions?. The first month was amazing. General Beckman got her fully trained agent with a working Intersect. We were a great spy couple prior to Bryce getting the Intersect. Afterwards, he had all this information. Added to that he had enhanced fighting, language, and a dozen other skills we put to good use on our missions."

Sarah stopped walking.

Chuck gave her a surprised look as she turned to look at him. "Chuck, as good as Bryce was once he got the Intersect 2.0, he never made all the connections you did. It was like Bryce was in fourth gear but you had this whole extra gear. Bryce took longer than you to recover from a 'flash'. I'm not sure how you did it, but you saw more in the Intersect database, made quicker connections between disparate data points than Bryce, even though he had the most up to date intelligence data."

Sarah started walking again. "Bryce and I jelled as a team in the second month. We were like a hot knife going through butter. We were always two steps ahead of the terrorists, the gun smugglers, other spies and the few remaining Fulcrum cells.

"Twice they set traps that we stumbled into. In the end it simply didn't matter. Bryce moved quicker, fought harder, shot straighter. We always turned the tables around and came out smelling like roses.

"We even managed to finish off the last remaining Fulcrum cells in less than a month.

"We also found out that Fulcrum was actually controlled by another intelligence splinter group. They called themselves the 'Ring'." They were better connected, very secretive and well funded."

Chuck was listening carefully. Oh, he had lots of questions. The question that sat on the tip of his tongue, that he was dying to ask, _'Were you and Bryce intimate? Did you become lovers again?_ ', never got asked.

But he held his tongue. He thought he knew the answer. They had become lovers again. He couldn't bear to ask, and he didn't want to know. A little voice said, ' _Liar, you're dying to know!'_

Sarah could see that Chuck was a million miles away. "Chuck, are you okay?"

Chuck zoned back in. "Yes, I'm fine, ahh ….you found out about the 'Ring', silly name for a secret spy organization."

Sarah wondered where his mind had drifted to. "We retrieved a database with several operative's names. They had been planted deep within the military, CIA and the NSA. "Bryce flashed on one of the names. He was a Marine gunnery sergeant, who was on detached service with a special ops group. The commanding officer was Colonel John Casey, USMC."

Chuck stopped walking this time. "Oh, crap. Sarah, please tell me that Casey's okay."

Sarah smiled and patted his arm. "Chuck, Casey's fine. Let me finish.

"We contacted Beckman and Casey. We set up an elaborate plan to find out who the leaders were. The key element in our plan was to leave Gunnery Sgt. Mallory in place with Casey's squad. As far as Mallory was concerned his secret life was still safe.

"It took three weeks to set up and then properly bait the trap. Casey's squad was recalled for a training exercise in Nevada. Casey then let slip that a very important prisoner who belonged to some new terrorist group called the 'Ring' was being held in a secure building, and their squad was part of the security detail."

Sarah touched Chuck's shoulder. "Bryce and I finally managed to capture a senior Ring member, a Brigadier General Alistair Kendall."

Chuck asked. "I don't understand? What were you hoping for…..I mean by spreading all this misinformation around?"

Sarah gave him a gentle tap with her elbow. "Come on Chuck, you're the brilliant one, fill in the blanks."

They walked on for five minutes. Chuck smiled. "Well, I guess the idea was to have the 'Ring' initiate a major rescue attempt. You would then have the opportunity to possibly capture another major player, someone who might be persuaded to talk about the leaders."

Sarah gave him a warm smile. "Well done Chuck." Chuck opened his hands and gestured as if to say, 'So, what happened?'

Sarah became more serious. "Beckman left it to Casey, Bryce and I to plan out the mission. She, of course, had final approval. But the catch was we didn't know where the top Ring leaders were located. But they were there, in the CIA, the military, NSA and Homeland Security.

"Normally, we would have access to the entire resources of our combined agencies. Beckman kept the need to know very tight. Beckman, Casey, Bryce and me. Right from the get-go, Bryce and Casey clashed during the planning. I was constantly intervening to move the planning along and calm the waters."

Sarah grew silent, reaching for her water bottle and drinking deeply.

There was a lot she wasn't telling Chuck. Not yet. Not this time around. She wasn't ready to tell Chuck that working with Bryce meant they didn't take as many prisoners as they did when she had worked with him.

The simple truth was Bryce Larkin had less compassion in his soul than Chuck.

To Sarah's chagrin, she had started to act much as she had before going to Burbank. Bryce and Sarah appeared to an innocent bystander as a wonderful, loving couple, witty and charming. However, those unlucky folk on the receiving end of the Anderson's attention often ended up dead.

Chuck interrupted her thoughts. "How was Bryce handling the Intersect? Any headaches, any nosebleeds? Dad's firm belief was that the Intersect wasn't really benign. No matter what the NSA or CIA said.

"He himself had to wear a special governor to prevent the Intersect from damaging his brain. He was making me a governor in case he couldn't get the Intersect out of my head."

Sarah sighed. "I don't think Orion shared that information with anybody else. If he did, no one told me or Bryce.

"However, Bryce was always competitive, with me, with Casey and even with you Chuck. He wanted to prove that he could do what you did and, because he was a trained agent, he would do it better. I think he minimized the risks to himself.

"What I did notice, and reported to Beckman, was that Bryce was taking more and more risks on missions. He started to substitute careful planning and proper surveillance with a slightly cavalier attitude that his enhanced abilities would get us out of trouble.

"In our last month together, Bryce's behavior made Carina look like the most risk adverse agent on the planet."

Sarah stopped and faced Chuck. "I never fully appreciated the risk to you, having all that knowledge stuffed into your head. I knew the Intersect, Casey and I turned your life upside down. Yet, you carried it off with…..well, I always thought you carried it lightly. Excuse the pun … but it never went to your head."

Chuck laughed out loud and gave her his old smile. "God, Sarah, it was like being on a roller coaster each day. The high's and low's were so extreme. If I had nine lives I think I used up eight of them."

Chuck walked on. "I think we both know that you kept me grounded, you allowed me to cope. Casey was great but he didn't have a lot of time for my lady feelings."

Sarah felt her heart tighten in her chest. She started walking again. She didn't want him to see her face. Only Chuck had that effect on her, one kind word from him warmed her.

They walked in silence for half a kilometer. Sarah picked up her story. "Finally, the day we had all planned for arrived. We had twenty minutes warning that the Ring had taken the bait.

"They sent one of their best teams. Fifteen men, all ex special forces operatives. And in charge, just like we hoped, was one of their senior planners. A woman. Colonel Marcia Ferraro, USAF.

"Casey's team now consisted of himself and five men. Gunnery Sgt. Mallory had an unfortunate accident that morning and wasn't available. And of course there was Bryce and me. Eight highly trained people against fifteen ex special forces types.

"We were outnumbered but Bryce, with his enhanced abilities, was worth five men. Plus we had home field advantage.

"At first the plan, the trap, worked brilliantly. Everything was unfolding as we had planned it. The person who said, ' _no plan long survives contact with the enemy'_ , got it right.

"I was beside Bryce, he stood up to take out three Ring agents to the left. My God he was quick. I was behind him. He fired four times, two double taps. Two Ring agents dead….and then he….he froze."

Sarah gave Chuck a sad smile. "When Bryce froze. He took two shots to his vest. I pulled him down behind some crates. Bryce was having trouble breathing. It looked to me like the bullets had cracked two or three ribs.

"All of a sudden the odds had changed, Casey's squad and I were in the fight of our lives.

"Fortunately, Casey, didn't agree with Bryce's grandiose thinking. He had a surprise that he kept from Bryce and me. He had another squad in reserve. A Marine recon squad he had originally trained at Pendleton.

"Casey, unknown to us, had asked Beckman to bring them into the area for possible training exercises with his special ops squad. Fortunately for us they were on standby that particular day.

Casey contacted them while we were both hiding behind some metal crates.

All we had to do was hang on until the cavalry arrived.

"When the recon squad did arrive, the Ring operatives finally surrendered. The senior planner, Marcia eventually gave us the information we needed. She didn't seem to have a death wish.

"Afterwards, we found out why Bryce froze. It was a TIA."

Chuck softly said. "A transient ischemic attack, he had a mini-stroke. What about..is..is Bryce okay?"

Sarah had to clear her throat. "Bryce did have two broken ribs, but other than that he seemed fine.

"Your dad helped the NSA take the Intersect out of Bryce's head. But the TIA was a huge warning sign. The neurologists ran every test they could think of for two full days. They found lingering numbness in his right hand. The doctors determined that Bryce now had a 40% greater chance of having a stroke than an average person.

"Bryce's career in the field as an operative was over.

"He hated the idea of sitting behind a desk. So he quit. He's officially retired and has returned to Connecticut. I don't think this was the way Bryce imagined his life turning out. He once told me, when we were together, that given what we did for a living we would both be lucky to see our fortieth birthday."

Chuck put his hand on Sarah's back. "I'm sorry Sarah, I mean about Bryce. I know the two of you were very close, you guys were amazing together."

Chuck looked along the trail and walked ahead.

Bryce Larkin was such a huge figure in both of their lives. Over the last eight years, Chuck believed he had experienced every possible emotion and feeling about Bryce. Bryce, his best friend. Bryce, who kept him out of the CIA. Bryce, who introduced him to Jill, the man who cuckolded him with Jill. Bryce, giver of the Intersect to his best friend. Lover of Sarah.

Chuck honestly didn't know what he felt towards Bryce. At that moment he felt bad for Bryce being unable to live the life of a spy. He had certainly given up a lot to follow his dream.

Sarah caught up to Chuck. "Over the last eight weeks we've been hunting down the leaders."

Sarah put her hand on Chuck's back. "When you saw me last month near the US embassy, I had just captured and brought in the last Ring leader. Chuck, I'm not supposed to tell you any of this … but… ahh, hell, I think I've already broken thirty different laws. I might as well tell you the last Ring leader was the CEO of a private bank in Bern. He was the banker for the organization."

Sarah pulled on Chuck's arm and slowed him down. "Chuck, Bryce and I were a team. A great team, but this time around…..it was different. It didn't go back to the way it was before Burbank. It could never go back and be that way. Too much had happened."

Chuck had a puzzled look on his face. "Do you mean because he went rogue, stole the Intersect and didn't confide in you?"

Sarah looked at him. Her blue eyes narrowed. There was a tinge of anger in her tone. "Really Chuck? I mean..God...Chuck, you think…"

Sarah actually wanted to punch him. Sometimes he was so…"Chuck, you can be so dense sometimes. It's because of you, Chuck!"

Sarah brushed past him and kept walking along the trail. She was aware she'd just admitted her feelings for him and had exposed a side of herself seldom seen. She wasn't going to let him see her losing control like this.

Chuck's slightly confused look morphed into an _'A ah'_ look.

He quickly shook off his surprise and hurried down the trail to catch up. When he caught up to her, he could see Sarah was upset? Or was she angry?

Sarah locked eyes with him."Chuck, you want to know why I left, fine, I was too frightened to stay. Bryce was familiar. My job as a spy was familiar and, compared to staying with you, it was safer. I've been training as an agent since I was seventeen, that's all I've ever done.

"I'm a spy Chuck, what else do you thing I can do? And how could I continue to be around your family? _'Oh, Hi Ellie, cup of coffee, by the way I've lied to you for the past two years'_. _Careful, don't cut yourself on my throwing knives."_

Chuck edged towards Sarah. Carefully, he put his arms around her and gently tugged her towards him.

At first Sarah was like a rock, unmovable, unyielding. When Chuck saw her face, he could see her eyes welling up with tears but they didn't spill over. Chuck worried that she was furious with him for not fully understanding what she was saying.

Bit by bit, second by second, she yielded and finally let Chuck embrace her.

After a while reveling in the feeling of being in Chuck's embrace, Sarah finally moved away and said, "Chuck, how much further do we have to go? My damn feet are killing me, rookie mistake, I bought new boots." She could feel several blisters on her feet.

Chuck laughed, breaking the tension. "I'd say about two kilometers." He gave her a smirk. "Do you want me to carry you?" The only answer he got was a light punch in the shoulder.

By the time they reached the chalet, Sarah knew there was blood squelching in her socks. She was walking gingerly and favoring her left leg, fighting off a cramp.

Chuck was feeling guilty that he had marched Sarah up and down the valley and back to the chalet.

Sarah saw the concern on his face. She smiled to herself, same old Chuck. Well, maybe not, sure this Chuck was still full of compassion for others, but he was also very fit. He seemed a little tired from their hike but looked like he could cover another four or five kilometers.

Chuck took Sarah lightly by the elbow once they entered the chalet. He took her to the kitchen and indicated she should sit down on one of the chairs. Sarah was wondering what he was going to do.

Chuck knelt down at her feet and he started to untie her hiking boots. "Sarah, I'm so sorry for pushing you so hard, out on the trails. I'm an idiot for not noticing you had new boots."

Sarah looked down on his bowed head as he gently removed her right boot. She couldn't see past his head.

Chuck was angry at himself. "Shit, two of these blisters have broken and have bled into your socks." He stood up. "Don't move. I know just what to do. Don't touch your feet. I'll be right back."

Sarah was going to tell Chuck to forget it. She'd had hundreds of blisters. She'd survived SERE training at Fairchild AFB. Sarah knew how to deal with blisters. Instead, she waited to see what he was going to do.

She stretched her neck and felt her body start to relax. She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to drift a little, thinking about all that had happened in the last two days.

Five minutes later, Chuck came back carrying a basin of warm water, two towels on his shoulder and a small jar of ointment pinned to his chest by his chin.

Once again he knelt down in front of her. He delicately removed the bloodied sock and put her foot in the basin of warm water. He rinsed off the blood and dried her foot. He then methodically moved to her left boot, untied it and repeated the process.

When his hands, ever so lightly, washed the blood from her feet, she felt a little jolt go up her spine from his touch, the same jolt she had felt many times during her two years in Burbank. After he'd gently dried both feet, he angled his neck and head to look up at her.

Sarah looked down and saw his brown eyes, soft with concern. "Sarah, I'd like to rub some of this ointment onto your feet. I discovered this stuff last year. It's amazing stuff. Okay?"

Sarah was still looking at him. Her voice wasn't working too well, so she nodded, once.

Chuck smiled and bent his head back down to focus on her feet. He put some ointment on his hand and took her right foot in his hand and started to gently rub the ointment onto the foot, taking care around the blisters. He wasn't looking at Sarah. He was focused on her feet.

Sarah didn't know what to do with her hands.

She didn't want to squirm in her chair. Chuck's touch was exquisite and driving her to distraction. She was looking down at his thick brown curly hair. It was longer than it had been in Burbank. _'God, Chuck that feels so nice.'_

She didn't know what to do with her hands.

She let him finish rubbing the ointment onto her right foot. It had almost killed her to sit still.

Then Chuck started to rub the ointment onto her left foot and now she squirmed a little in her chair. That's when she whispered softly, "Enough is enough."

Sarah leaned forward and slowly reached out with her right hand. "Chuck, your hair is longer than I remember."

Chuck was still looking down at her feet and started to ramble. "Interesting you should say that … I almost got a haircut last month …well…..it just got busy …."

Chuck kept rambling but Sarah had stopped listening to him. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears.

The fingers on her right hand reached out and lightly touched his head at the temple. She slowly moved her fingers through his thick curly hair until her hand was at the back of his head.

Chuck had finally stopped talking.

Sarah felt the shudder go through his body as she touched his head. But Chuck kept rubbing her left foot. And Sarah kept melting away in her chair. She reached out with her left hand to the other side of his head and moved her fingers slowly through his curls.

Finally, both of her hands were at the back of his head.

Chuck stopped rubbing her foot. He started to stand up slowly. Sarah rose up from her seat and delicately matched his movements. When they were both standing up, Sarah pulled Chuck's head down and stood up on her toes.

Their faces were close together.

Sarah could tell that Chuck was about to start babbling. She could sense his excitement and see the nervousness all over his face.

She needed to stop him from what could well be the mother of all babbles.

"Chuck, ….no more … talking!" And before he knew it, she kissed him with a fierceness that took his breath away. After a moment's hesitation, he deepened the kiss and almost picked her up off her feet. He heard a tiny moan escape her lips.

 _A/N- I know, I know, how can I leave the story here. Chapter 5 is almost finished and we will be posted as soon as possible._


	5. Chapter 5

A/N- I very much appreciate the continued interest in the story and your reviews.

Thank you Michaelfmx for your editing and input.

 _"_ _To be loved but not known is comforting but superficial. To be known and not loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully known and truly loved, well … that is what we need more than anything._

 _―_ _Timothy J. Keller_

 _John Watson's words to Mary his wife._

 _The problems of your past are your business. The problems of your future are my privilege. That's all I have to say. That's all I need to know."  
Sherlock Holmes(BBC) - John Watson, His Last Vow_

 **Chapter 5**

 **October 31st, 2010-9pm -Vischer Chalet -Arosa**

Sarah's eyelids fluttered open as she slowly emerged from a deep sleep. Her blonde hair was splayed on Chuck's chest. His right arm was wrapped around her and he was snoring softly. She was surprised how comforting the sound was to her, a forgotten memory from their 'cover' sleepovers.

She had lost track of time. She couldn't even remember the exact point she drifted off to sleep ….. afterwards.

Agent Sarah Walker never lost track of time. Not with her past lovers, not even with Bryce.

Before Burbank, and his betrayal of their partnership when he went rogue, Sarah had enjoyed having sex with Bryce. The sex almost always occurred after one of their hair-raising, adrenaline fueled missions.

But she'd never totally lost herself in the act. Perhaps that was because she'd never totally given herself over to Bryce. She'd held a part of herself back, just as she was sure that Bryce had held parts of himself back from her.

No matter what she was doing, Agent Walker had always maintained what her instructors at the 'Farm' called 'situational awareness'. Well, at least until a couple of hours ago.

She lifted her head and looked around. The bedroom was dark except for a sliver of moonlight coming through the window and reflecting off the hardwood floor.

When they'd come into the bedroom, she vaguely remembered that the setting sun was shedding its last red and golden rays through the window, as it raced westward.

So, what the hell time was it?

Sarah delicately untangled herself from Chuck and eased out of his embrace and the warm bed. She looked around and saw Chuck's T-shirt lying on the floor, so she picked it up and slipped it on.

As she walked back towards the kitchen, she could see the trail of jetsam in the wake of their urgent lovemaking. She stopped in her tracks just inside the bedroom door and looked down. There, beside her red panties, were her gun and Velcro knife holder where she must have discarded them on their hasty voyage to the bed.

She quietly closed the door to the bedroom, so as not to disturb Chuck.

Finally she was able to see what time it was from the control panel on the gas stove. My God, it was only 9pm!? That explained why she was ravenous. She hadn't eaten since lunch, nine long hours ago.

Apart from her hunger, it still felt to her like it was the middle of the night. Sarah turned on the light built into the stove's control panel and sat down in the now dimly lit kitchen. She then put her left arm and elbow up on the kitchen table and rested her chin in the palm of her hand.

Sleeping with Chuck had been a spontaneous, unplanned act, and really hadn't solved anything. A little voice whispered to Sarah, ' _Oh, come on, you've wanted to have sex with Chuck since you kissed him on day 56 of the mission.'_

Sarah slowly pieced together what had happened. The first time, their pent up desires had ruled their actions. The evidence of their haste, the discarded clothes, went from the kitchen chair all the way back into the bedroom. They had both been on a runaway bobsled hurtling down an unknown icy track.

The second time was a little less urgent, a more conscious act, each of them seeking to please the other.

Afterwards, they were both spent and had drifted off to sleep. Both times, Chuck had gladly followed Sarah's order to stop talking and focus on the tasks at hand.

Several times, as Sarah sat there, her eyes glanced back at the bedroom door, her thoughts focusing on the man sleeping in the bed behind the door. Chuck Bartowski was once again in her life. Many times over the last year, she'd thought about him, wondered how he was, who he might be with, what he might be doing and how Ellie and Devon were getting along.

She smiled, a small chuckle escaping her lips as she thought back over the last eight months.

Four months after leaving Burbank the Intersect Mission was closed down. She had once again been by herself, no Bryce, a 'loner' agent.

During those months, Sarah had slowly started putting together a 'Bartowski bucket list' in her head. She had done this, usually, in the evenings, before she went to sleep. She had added items, then, with further reflection, removed them.

Eight months of thinking about him and this incessant back and forth about what should be on the bucket list. Finally, she had whittled the list down to seven essential items.

Sarah had put the list together in the faint hope, and low expectation, that she and Chuck's paths might cross again. If that ever happened, she would try to do some things differently.

Sarah now called up the 'Bartowski bucket list' in her mind, checking off one particular item….no, wait, better put two big checks there.

At that precise moment, as Sarah sat alone in the kitchen, she felt one cascading emotion after the other. She was actually happy, but she was unsettled and she was uncertain about ….. well … about everything. What the hell was she supposed to do now?

She had no doubt in her mind that she had crossed her own personal Rubicon. No turning back now. But that didn't mean she wasn't tempted to flee. Better to be dodging bullets than talking out her fears and issues with Chuck.

Run Sarah, Run!

She and Chuck had touched on the reasons she'd left Burbank on their walk yesterday, but only very briefly.

Sarah snorted. Walk? Hell…..that was no walk! Chuck had been punishing her. She was sure of it. It was like being with the French Foreign Legion. What was their motto, oh yeah, 'Marche ou creve' _('March or die')._

Her many concerns and fears about being entangled with Chuck Bartowski were still there, unresolved. Shit!

She wouldn't run away from him, this time. She'd explain to him why she had to leave.

Sarah was now caught on the horns of a dilemma. If she stayed Chuck would want to really get to know the real person behind all the disguises and her many personas. She was sure he would eventually end up hating that person. But if she left Chuck … this time … that he would never forgive.

 _My God_ , she thought to herself, she just slept with the man. He would never, ever understand her leaving him this time.

Hell, maybe this time, Chuck would run away from her? Maybe he'd had enough, maybe he wanted off the Sarah Walker 'relationship rollercoaster', guaranteed to thrill, confuse, unsettle and, in some cases, cause mild to severe nausea?

Sarah didn't even move when she heard the faint noise behind her. She stayed sitting there, and continued to ponder the extremely remote possibility of a future with him.

She knew Chuck had come into the room. She knew it was him before she'd even heard the noise.

A silly thought crossed her mind and made her smile. Maybe, after having sex, their minds were now .. in some sort of .. Vulcan mind link, or was it a meld? No doubt a memory fragment from one of those endless Star Trek episodes he'd made her watch back in Burbank.

Chuck drew close to her and put his big warm hand on her back. She twisted her head and angled her head to look at him. And there it was, the big Bartowski, ear to ear, smile. Sarah, in a Pavlovian reflex, gave him her special smile.

Special, because it was her genuine smile and it was seldom seen.

Chuck sat down beside her. "I'm famished, what time is it?"

"It's only 9pm, I wonder what's in the fridge?" Sarah suspected that the ever efficient Katrin may have already seen to their needs.

Chuck walked over to the fridge, opened the door and bent over to look inside. "Katrin has left us with what looks like shepherd's pie and a light salad. I'll heat up the shepherd's pie in the microwave."

Sarah got up and grabbed two plates, utensils, the salad and two glasses of water.

They ate in companionable silence.

Chuck finished his meal first and sat back and waited for Sarah to finish eating.

He started the conversation with something safe; he was worried he might say the wrong thing and ruin the mood. "Reudi warned me that Katrin would cook all my meals. And warned me not get in her way or try to cook for myself."

"Chuck, this is a pretty special place. Your boss, Reudi, must think very highly of you to make his family's chalet available to you, free of charge." Sarah took a nervous breath. "Is it okay if I ask how on earth you ended up in Bern?"

Chuck looked at her and made a snap decision to be more open. He then gave her a quick smile. "Well, after I left Burbank …."

Over the next fifteen minutes he told her everything. How he had bumped into Reudi and the hiking group near the North face of the Eiger. Then he told her how he ended up at Valyrian.

Sarah's training made her an excellent listener, always patient and always appearing interested, even when she wasn't.

But this evening Sarah, the lover not the agent, was extremely interested and gratefully drank in the information that Chuck was sharing about himself. It had been far too long.

Sarah the agent picked up on Chuck's apparent skills in hacking. That particular piece of information had not been in the profile the NSA and CIA had put together, and Chuck had never mentioned his hacking skills to her or Casey. They knew Chuck was good with computers. That was a far cry from what he was doing now.

Sarah wondered if the 'watchers', Casey and her, might've become the watched when they were in Burbank?

As Sarah listened to Chuck, she was proud of what he had accomplished. She'd always believed that Chuck had so much to offer, so much to give to his job and the people he now called his friends.

Sarah's mind drifted back to the first time she had stepped into the Buy More. Director Graham had given her a new mission and there, standing at the Nerd desk, was her mark, and possibly her new asset.

She still remembered that moment as if it'd happened yesterday. She'd asked the CIA analyst for his weaknesses. The analyst's response was seared into her memory.

 _'_ _Bright, but an underachiever. Lonely. Had his heart broken recently.'_

Sarah the agent took the information in and quickly calculated how she would approach the new 'mark'. She had smiled when she'd heard the analyst's information.

Bryce's old friend was a lovesick Nerd, he would be putty in her hands, _'_ _piece of cake.'_

That's who she was back then, a hardened spy, Langston Graham's enforcer. Confident of her ability to gain Charles Bartowski's confidence, get the information she wanted, complete her mission and then move on, that's why she had been the CIA's best.

How many times in those first few months had she and Casey underestimated him, treated him like so many other assets they'd dealt with over the years.

That had been before they had figured out Chuck was unlike any 'asset' they'd ever met.

Sarah, looking back, regretted some of her words and actions during the early weeks of the Intersect mission. One day she hoped she would be able to work up the courage to actually apologize to Chuck for manhandling him and being a bully in the washroom, during the Dr. Zarnow mission.

There was nothing easy about being involved with Chuck Irving Bartowski. Chuck had been Agent Sarah Walker's Waterloo.

Sarah came out of her reverie and saw those big brown eyes looking at her. His left eyebrow arched just enough to ask, _'where did you go?'_

Sarah quickly gathered her thoughts. "What happened to Morgan and Anna? Did things work out in Hawaii?"

"Well, little Guillermo only lasted six months in trying to become a Benihana chef. To add to his misfortune, Anna left him for one of his classmates. Anna leaving him hit him hard.

"He came back to Burbank with his tail between his legs. Big Mike gave him a break and took him back into the Buy More. But on the bright side,he's now the Assistant Manager." Chuck said the last bit with a touch of pride in his little buddy.

Chuck let out a big yawn and Sarah followed suit. "Chuck, I'll pick up our clothes and take them into the bedroom, if you'll clear the dishes into the sink?" Chuck nodded and they swung into action.

Sarah had just finished gathering up and sorting out their clothes, along with her gun and knives. She was standing stock still, looking down for one missing sock.

Chuck came up quietly behind her and bent down, giving her a kiss on the nape of her neck. He then encircled her waist with his arms. Sarah felt the temperature in the room shoot up.

She arched her head and leaned back onto his chest. She put her hands on top of his as they rested on her stomach. She then moved their joined hands up. "Chuck, the door, get…..the door," was said in a lower, sultry tone.

Chuck, while still holding onto Sarah, moved them back a step and a half. He then balanced himself against her, shifting his weight to his left leg and lifted his right leg to seek out the edge of the door with his foot. His toes found the edge and he flicked it closed.

They heard the door latch catch in the strike plate.

Sarah smiled to herself, he was such a Nerd.

"Well done, Chuck. Such dexterity needs to be richly rewarded."

 **November 1st, 2010- 8:30am , Vischer Chalet -Arosa**

Chuck was pulled from his slumber by the smell of coffee. He opened his eyes to see a smiling Sarah and a set of very deep blue eyes gazing at him. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding two cups.

The thought that sprang to mind was about the Sirens on the rocks that Ulysses had encountered on his odyssey. Except Sarah wasn't singing to tempt him, no, she knew Chuck too well; she was holding a cup of fresh brewed coffee under his nose to entice him from his sleep.

Chuck sat up and took the offered cup. "Hmmm, thank you."

"Chuck, time to get up. Katrina has laid out an amazing breakfast for us."

Sarah took a sip of her coffee, her eyes fixed on him. Chuck wondered how it was she could make the simple act of sipping her coffee so damn sexy.

"So Chuck, what do you have planned for me today, 'Mon capitaine'? Perhaps scale the Weisshorn without ropes and crampons? Maybe, a forced march to Davos and back, with a backpack full of rocks? Or, what about …"

Chuck actually blushed. "Sarah, about yesterday... I …. I'm sorry about ….. That wasn't very considerate …"

Sarah laughed, "Chuck, get up. I'm messing with you. You do know that's not the first time I've had blisters on my feet ….. or had blood in my stocking ….. right?"

 **That Same Day -Hornlihutte Restaurant (2,480meters)- 12:30pm**

Chuck had wanted an easier day and a quiet place to talk with Sarah. He knew today's conversation might be a make or break moment for them.

Georg had recommended they hike down to their car, drive to Arosa and take the Hornli cable car. Katrin had once again made them lunch.

In German, she'd told Sarah that it would be very quiet up on the ridge, with few people. It was low season and the Restaurant wouldn't be open again until the ski season started. But people were still welcome to sit inside and take in the views.

Chuck sat there looking out towards the Weisshorn, lost in his thoughts. Sarah Walker was back in his life, but for how long? What did she really want from him? He hoped that it just wasn't to have some recreational sex, because it sure hadn't been that for him.

Sleeping with Sarah had made things infinitely more complex for him. It had been an ethereal experience for Chuck, intimate and important to him. It had been better than he had ever imagined.

Chuck smiled because he had a good imagination, especially when it came to Sarah Walker.

But he had no idea what Sarah's thoughts were about what happened last night. He was concerned that he put far, far more stock in their shared intimacy than Sarah had.

If that was the case, if Sarah treated what happened last night between them lightly, as a mere sexual encounter ….. then he knew she would soon be moving on.

And that thought threatened to open an old wound, one that Chuck thought had healed. It was the possible pain of seeing Sarah hitting the road once again to resume her spy life without even a backward glance at him.

Chuck couldn't help himself and wondered if Sarah and Bryce had been merely partners with benefits. Intimacy and making love with another human being, as opposed to having sex, was not really part of who they were.

Ah yes, Bryce Larkin from Connecticut, whose boyish charm and debonair manner brought the ladies to his bed with monotonous regularity. Bryce took having sex with this bevy of Stanford women, so .. so casually; Chuck thought of Bryce like some feudal prince whose birthright was to bed as many maidens in the kingdom as he could.

All the time that they were together at Stanford, Chuck never saw one woman get really close to Bryce. That memory stayed with Chuck, sometimes less meant more.

Sarah touched his arm. "Chuck, I asked if you could hand me one of the sandwiches. Are you okay?"

Chuck reached into his hiking backpack. "Sorry, Sarah …. I was wondering …. uhh …. I was thinking about Bryce. I was wondering who he has in his life, now that he's retired. He must be lonely."

Sarah played a little chess and knew what an opening gambit was. Chuck had just opened his gentle interrogation of her with a very clever move.

Talk about a loaded question.

What the hell was she supposed to say in response? A little voice answered her, _Try the truth, be genuine with him'._

"Bryce lives near his parents. I've never met his folks. What I mean to say, we never got close to the stage of him taking me home to meet the parents. Bryce has led me to believe that money isn't a problem in his life, it never really has been." Sarah could see Chuck was watching her intently.

"Chuck, when I first became your handler, well …. we both know …. I lied to you about my relationship with Bryce. Carina, by the way, betrayed a confidence between her and me, when she told you that Bryce and I were lovers."

"You mean Carina told me the truth about the two of you." Chuck's tone was sharp.

Sarah sighed. "Yes, when I was in Burbank, I was in agent mode. My job was to get close to you, to ground you. If I'd told you that Bryce and I were not only partners but lovers, well …. that was hardly going to help me do my job, or keep you safe."

Chuck shook his head. "So, you lied to me."

Sarah snapped out her response. "Of course I lied. God Chuck, you met my father, he's a conman. I'm a conman's daughter. I'm also a spy. Lying for me is easy. It's telling the truth that's hard."

Sarah stopped for a moment, she wanted to get his full attention. "But here and now I want to tell you the truth …. but do you really want to hear the truth?

"Sometimes, the truth is hard Chuck. A single truth can hurt much more than a dozen lies."

Sarah's intense gaze caused him to blink. He swallowed and nodded, yes.

"Bryce and I are friends. I talk with him once a month. He gave up a lot to serve his country, as have I. I understand what he has done as an agent. I know the good things, and the bad things, he's done in order to complete our missions. I know what he's gone through and I know how he feels now about not being a field agent any longer.

"Chuck, Bryce is now adrift, he needs to find some new purpose, get some plan for his life. Until he does that, he'll be like you were after you got expelled at Stanford."

The words escaped Chuck's mouth without much thought. "Yes, expelled because my best friend betrayed me."

Sarah tentatively reached out for Chuck's hand. "But I'm not his lover. When he became the Intersect, I became his partner, not his lover.

"Chuck, you know how Bryce is …. he tried to charm me back into his bed. But this time…." Sarah gave Chuck a small smile " ….I was immune to his charms." Sarah made sure she had Chuck's full attention. "..….it was almost like I'd been vaccinated."

Chuck laughed. "Okay, thank you for telling me…. I was curious ...you know …. "

"It's okay Chuck, you're a man, I get it."

Sarah saw the tension in Chuck lessen. "Come on Chuck, since I'm in a truth telling mood…..ask me a question."

Chuck took but a second. "Why wouldn't you go on vacation with me?"

Sarah was prepared for him this time. "Chuck, be honest with me, please, you weren't just asking me to go on vacation. You wanted me to stay in Burbank with you. You wanted me to quit the CIA and be a 'normal' girl. What the hell would I do, if I stopped being a spy? How on earth would I ever become a 'normal' girl?"

Chuck gave Sarah a weary sigh. "I told you this yesterday. You can't possibly know what I'm going to say unless you actually talk to me. Not have these incessant monologues with yourself."

Sarah was leaning forward and focusing all her attention on Chuck. "Chuck, the other thing that makes it impossible for us to make any kind of relationship work …. is my past, …..things that I've done will come to haunt you, like they do me. "

Chuck interrupted, "Sarah, I'm not an idiot. I'm not naïve. My God I worked with you and Casey for two years. Don't you get it? I'm not blinded to what you've done in the past. I know you're not the girl next door, no matter what my sister and friends might believe.

"I don't have you on a pedestal. I'll admit at first, maybe I did. I reacted to you like you were like some goddess that had suddenly and magically appeared in my life. Every time I saw you I was tongue tied and had to fight to get my words out.

"That period didn't last very long. For the record, I don't worship you ….but I did fall in love with you.

"I've seen you kill people on our missions. One of my first flashes was when Casey told me about Elana Truffault. You know, when you were the French diplomat. I saw the grisly pictures you took for Graham. You poisoned the entire French family. I can close my eyes even now and see the six corpses slumped around a dinner table.

"I saw you execute Mauser in cold blood and minutes afterward, smile at me sweetly and lie to my face.

"I had nightmares for weeks following that night. It took me a long time before the nightmares abated. But you know what, the thing that ate away at me, the thing that bothered me the most was the lie you told."

Chuck saw Sarah sit back in her seat slightly. He could see that she was taken aback, his words hitting home. "My eyes weren't blinkered when I asked you to go on vacation with me a year ago. No, not in the least."

This time Chuck reached out and put his hand on top of Sarah's. "I see more than the CIA's best agent.

"Remember Agent Alex Forrest? I'm sure she's a credit to the CIA. She's a very beautiful woman, a patriot like Casey, brave and fearless, but she held little attraction for me.

"Agent Forrest is the quintessential example of someone who has become the job.

"If she'd been my handler, Agent Longshore would've had no problem getting me on the helicopter. I'd now be either dead or in a secure bunker. And you know what, if General Beckman had ordered my termination then Alex Forrest would've pulled the trigger and had a pancake breakfast right afterwards.

"As far as I'm concerned, Agent Forrest is an empty vessel, a hollow shell waiting for her next assignment, because that's all she has to live for."

Sarah was stunned by Chuck's careful dismantling of Alex Forrest's character. Agent Forrest's professional reputation was someone who was a coolly efficient, a successful, by the book field operative who completed her missions .. that reputation had just been destroyed.

Sarah felt like a mirror had been held up for her to look into. Sometimes she hated looking into mirrors because they reflected a person she no longer recognized.

However, it was the termination order that gripped her heart like a giant fist. And at the moment, she could feel it squeezing her until she wanted to cry out in pain. Her eyes grew moist.

She had always been aware that Director Graham and General Beckman might issue a joint order to terminate Chuck. She'd had made contingency plans after the incident with Agent Longshore.

But thankfully it had never come to that. No termination order was issued … well apart from the one Casey received after she and Chuck fled to Barstow together to find his father.

But it was obviously something Chuck had given a lot of thought to.

Chuck interrupted her thoughts and she heard, "What I'm saying very badly is ….is, I care more for Sarah …. than Agent Walker."

Sarah was still shaken by his earlier comments. She withdrew her hand. "Chuck you can't neatly and logically split me apart like that. I'm Agent Walker and Sarah. My God, Chuck, Sarah's not even my real name, I told you that the first week we were together."

Chuck locked eyes with Sarah, "Okay, whatever your name is, I do know you're courageous, kind to those you care about, willing to sacrifice your life to protect people who will never know what you've done. I don't think you've became the job...and the most important thing is …. I think you care about me a great deal."

Sarah's blue eyes bore into Chuck. She had to make him see that this would never work, no matter how they felt about each other. "One day, a story from my past will rear its ugly head. Something I did, that was worse than the things you know about, it will surface. I'll see the horror on your face. And then, instead of seeing love in your eyes, I'll see sadness, or worse, fear and disgust. I'm pretty sure that would destroy our relationship and, in the end, me."

Sarah's eyes filled up with tears. She used the back of her hand to wipe them from her eyes. There, she'd said it to him, the truth he wanted so desperately to hear from her .. it was now out there.

She'd looked deep into his eyes as she'd been talking to him and knew that her words had hit their mark. He was unsettled and probably wished that he'd been left alone to enjoy his new life in Bern. Meeting her again had solved nothing. The only thing she had accomplished was ripping open old wounds.

Chuck saw the deep hurt and pain in Sarah's eyes and saw her tear up. Finally, he was hearing from the person, not the spy. But Sarah had been correct, sometimes truth could hurt and could shatter a person's life.

He stood up and walked around the restaurant to stretch his legs and think about what Sarah was saying, because he sensed if they couldn't move past Sarah's fear of the past, then they had no hope of moving forward.

Sarah sat there and followed Chuck's movements. The restaurant was practically empty, there was an older grey headed couple sitting at the far end.

The older coupled looked like they had been together for three or four decades. She conjured up the image that they had weathered the storms of life together, grown old together and now they were able to be a witness to the other person's life.

She felt the sadness slowly creep into her body because she was sure that she had finally convinced him why they couldn't be in a relationship, made Chuck understand that her personal baggage would be simply too much for him. Sarah wasn't a person who cried easily, but the tears wouldn't stop and the truth was she didn't care.

Chuck wandered back and sat back down. He was deeply moved by Sarah's tears and reached across to touch her hand.

He sat silently for another minute or two, continuing to hold her hand and glancing at her.

"Sarah, my deepest fear is that you are going to leave as soon as this current mission is over. There I've said it. You've no idea how painful it was for me to see you just pick up and leave Burbank and leave me.

"There was a void that I couldn't fill. It brought back horrible memories of Stanford and betrayal and Jill rejecting me, especially when I needed her most.

"For three weeks I could see myself slowly spiraling downwards. This time I caught myself before I bottomed out and became truly pathetic.

"Ellie and Devon were amazing in their unconditional support of me. If you have my sister in your corner, then you're lucky indeed.

"Geez, even Casey helped a bit, although it was more tough love messages. You know Casey, two grunts and, _'Come on Bartowski, the CIA skirts always leave when the mission's done. Don't take it so personal. Take some of my Johnnie Walker, have a drink and a good cry .. get it out of your system and move on. There are lots of fish in the sea'_ "

Chuck had been doing Casey's voice and he laughed, Sarah joined in. It took a little of the edge off of what he was sharing.

Chuck put his hand on her wrist. "Sarah, I think I know what's wrong with what we're trying to here. We're trying to solve all our problems, right here and right now. I mean in the next two hours. It just isn't going to happen.

"We don't have any basis or structure or even enough time to work on … the problems we know about … and the problems to come. Not if we don't make a commitment to at least try."

Sarah placed her head into her right hand and started rubbing her forehead. What the hell was Chuck talking about?

"Sarah, if you're going to leave when this mission is over, then please tell me right now. I'm pretty sure that when you leave. I'll feel like shit and I'll be depressed … for a while.

But this time at least I know why you're leaving, that will help me to deal with the pain .. a little bit."

Sarah waited several heart beats before she spoke. "Chuck, I don't want to leave, but I don't know how to stay."

At that exact moment, her phone rang. It was Emily Summers calling. Engrained habits are hard to break. Sarah automatically took the call and Chuck could hear Sarah say, "Yes, you're sure?" .. Then "okay" .. "Yes, tonight at 20:30 hours, at the safe house."

Sarah ended the call, suddenly she was in full spy mode. "Chuck, we have to go back to Bern. Immediately! Emily and Cole want to meet with us tonight at the safe house."

Chuck had a dozen questions and some objections. Why did he have to go back to Bern? What about all his clothes and hiking equipment still back at the chalet? Why do they want me to come to the safe house?

Did he just hear Sarah correctly, did she just say that she might, possibly, perhaps, maybe consider staying? Chuck had three hours on the drive back to try to get Sarah out of spy mode to find out what she meant.

 _ **A/N** \- 'The best laid plans o' mice and men gang aft a gley.'_

 _It looks like my initial goal of wrapping this story up in one more chapter will not happen. I will most likely will need two or three more chapters._


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N** \- A bit of a delay but real life has its own drumbeat that simply cannot be ignored.

I continue to be grateful to the folk who continue to read this story and take the time to review, it is appreciated. I'm now working on the final three chapter arc to bring the story to an end.

Sincere thanks to michaelfmx for his editing and valued input into the story.

 _History keeps her secrets longer than most of us. But she has one secret that I will reveal to you tonight in the greatest confidence. Sometimes there are no winners at all. And sometimes nobody needs to lose_

 _-John le Carre_

 _"_ _There must be a few times in life when you stand at a precipice of a decision. When you know there will forever be a Before and an After...I knew there would be no turning back if I designated this moment as my own Prime Meridian from which everything else would be measured."  
_ _―_ _Justina Chen_ _,_ _North of Beautiful_

 ** _From Chapter 5_**

 _"_ _Sarah, if you're going to leave when this mission is over, then please tell me right now. I'm pretty sure that when you leave, I'll feel like shit and I'll be depressed … for a while._

 _But this time at least I'll know why you're leaving, that will help me to deal with the pain .. a little bit."_

 _Sarah waited several heart beats before she spoke. "Chuck, I don't want to leave, but I don't know how to stay."_

 _At that exact moment, her phone rang. It was Emily Summers calling. Engrained habits are hard to break. Sarah automatically took the call and Chuck could hear Sarah say, "Yes, you're sure?" .. Then "okay" .. "Yes, tonight at 2030 hours, at the safe house."_

 _Sarah ended the call, suddenly she was in full spy mode. "Chuck, we have to go back to Bern. Immediately! Emily and Cole want to meet with us tonight at the safe house."_

 _Chuck had a dozen questions and some objections. Why did he have to go back to Bern? What about all his clothes and hiking equipment still back at the chalet? Why do they want me to come to the safe house?_

 _Did he just hear Sarah correctly? Did she just say that she might, possibly, perhaps, maybe consider staying? Chuck had three hours to try to get Sarah out of spy mode to find out what she'd meant._

 **Chapter 6**

 **November 1** **st** **, On the way to Bern – 6:30pm**

Sarah hated being a passenger, especially in a five year old Toyota Verso.

Chuck was a safe driver who followed the rules of the road and the speed limit. He was driving her crazy. She'd asked him three times to switch places and let her drive. Each time he gave her a firm no. "Sarah, this is Malina's car and it's my responsibility."

As soon as they got off the cable car and got into the Toyota, Sarah had quickly brought Chuck up to date on her short call with Emily.

He wasn't happy that she hadn't shared her and Emily's suspicions that Janek might be setting up a 'honey trap' on his good friend and team member at work, Malina.

"Sarah, when exactly were you planning to tell me about this 'honey trap' that Janek is running on Malina? God, I hope you're wrong about this because I think Malina might be in love with the guy."

Chuck knew what a honey trap was because Casey had explained it to him once over one long evening, with the help of Johnnie Walker Black. But he'd never suspected that Janek would be anything other than who he said he was.

He heard Casey's scathing voice in his head., _'Moron, did we waste our time teaching you to be more skeptical about people? Question everything you see, suspect everyone you meet.'_

Sarah sheepishly replied, "Chuck, it was merely a suspicion, with no evidence to go on. I was waiting for Emily and Cole to do some digging. Besides, I was a little distracted back at the chalet ….. by certain events … or have you forgotten?"

She hated to break the bad news to Chuck, that there was more to Janek than might meet the eye. When Emily had left, the plan was for her and Cole to marshal the resources of their respective agencies. Contact their respective analysts, and key contacts at MI6 and FIS to dig into Janek's background.

They had also reached out to their unofficial off the books networks in Poland and Russia.

Now they needed to meet with Sarah and Chuck and share what they had discovered.

Chuck was concerned. "Sarah, I thought all this stuff is was classified. I'm not an agent, I have no security clearances any longer. Why the hell do they want to see me? Don't get me wrong, I'm really worried about Malina but …"

Sarah reached out and touched his knee lightly. "I suspect they, we, need something from you, so prepare yourself. I don't know exactly what they've found out. Chuck, I'm being dead honest with you, I'm not sure what scheme Cole and Emily are cooking up.

"But I think … breathe deeply Chuck …you might be back in the spy game."

Chuck swallowed a bitter response and was silent for several miles. He couldn't believe that, after everything he'd done to extricate himself from the 'spy game', he was going to once again be an asset, or a mole inside Valyrian.

Shit, did that mean he had to be handled, or whatever the hell plan they had prepared for him.

Chuck stole a glance at Sarah and there was anger in his tone. "I will not be handled by you …..that will never happen again. I mean it Sarah!"

Sarah felt Chuck's words raining down on her. She was taken aback by his anger and the bitterness in his tone.

The two years she'd spent with him in Burbank had been the best and worst times of her life. She'd done her best as his handler to give him a normal life but needed to be detached in order to do her job and more importantly to keep him safe.

Keep him out of a government bunker and keep him alive.

Someday she wanted to be able to tell Chuck that he had been like a magical door for her. A door that opened into a life she never ever thought she could or should be a part of.

When she entered through that doorway she was part of a family. She was Chuck's girlfriend. She knew she'd been hard on Chuck, demanding, aloof and as changeable as the weather.

Their whole time together in Burbank had been defined and shrouded in a handler-asset relationship. The handler-asset relationship had colored every aspect of the two years she was with him.

No wonder he was bitter.

"Chuck, please trust me, I won't be your handler. We will not repeat what happened in Burbank, I promise."

Chuck's anger dissipated quickly. He was lost in his thoughts for the next ten minutes. He was trying to think of the best way to pick up the thread of their earlier conversation back at the restaurant. Finally, he gave up and just jumped in with both feet.

"Uhh, Sarah, what you said ….you know back at the restaurant …. about not wanting to leave. Does that mean you want to stay….for a while …. with me?"

Sarah didn't really want to talk to Chuck about what she had said at this moment, mainly because she was still trying to figure out what she'd really meant. She needed to be a spy right now because, in less than two hours, she was meeting with two very professional spies, who would be all business.

Trying to have a conversation with Chuck about their relationship and their future was too distracting. She could feel the tension building up in the pit of her stomach.

Silence hung between them as Sarah thought about what to say.

Chuck finally broke the silence. "Sarah?"

Sarah blew out her breath and turned towards him. "Chuck, I do want to stay but, besides my fears that are real, I'm still a CIA field agent. Once we finish this mission they may send me to the other side of the world with only six hours notice.

"That could mean that you wouldn't see me for three, four maybe six months. How can you possibly build a relationship when we will hardly see each other?"

Chuck's grip tightened on the steering wheel. "Sarah, first comes the commitment then we work through all the problems and shitty circumstances that will undoubtedly come our way. Are you in or are you out?"

Sarah turned towards him. "Chuck, I know what you want." The words poured forth in an exasperated tone. "I'm not a quitter. If I agree to be in a relationship then yes, we'll figure out the practical stuff together.

"Now … leave me alone …. please …. so I can get my game face on and at least appear professional in front of Cole and Emily.

"One more thing, don't say one word about our possible arrangement to Cole or Emily? I need some time … there are a lot of balls in the air .. I'm going to have to call in some favors, if we're going to make this thing … whatever you want to call it …. work."

Chuck smiled at her and couldn't resist. "So, after the meeting tonight …are you going to stay at the safe house or come back to my flat? I think everything you own fits in a carry on, so I'm sure there's enough room in the closet …."

Sarah's tone was much more laden with warning than her words. "Chuck …leave it alone!"

 **November 1** **st** **, 8:30pm –Swiss Government Safe House -** **18 Selibuhlweg, Bern**

Cole opened the door to let them in. "Chuck Bartowski, how are you? I'm very glad our paths have crossed again." Cole's warm handshake conveyed he was actually glad to see Chuck. The feeling was mutual.

Emily was sitting at the kitchen table. She was wearing black jeans, a red merino wool jumper and her auburn hair was pulled back into a sleek pony tail. The table was covered in dossiers, a bottle of red wine, wine glasses, a 9mm Beretta pistol with a spare clip and an HK-MK5P.

Chuck shook his head, the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.

Emily was talking to Chuck but could see Sarah. "Hello Charles, I trust having Agent Walker stay over at the chalet wasn't too much of an inconvenience for you?"

Sarah's face was neutral and gave nothing away. Chuck smiled at Emily's remark. "No, Emily, not a problem. Frau Aschleimann asked me to return the panties that you left behind after you got drenched on your hike into the chalet. I have them here with me."

Emily hesitated for a second and wondered if indeed she'd left her panties back at the chalet. The moment's hesitation caused Cole and Sarah to laugh out loud. Chuck couldn't keep a straight face and smiled at Emily who in spite of her best efforts smiled back.

Cole walked towards the table. "Alright, _touchés_ all around. Let's sit down. We have a lot of ground to cover."

Chuck sat beside Emily and Sarah sat across from Chuck beside Cole.

Cole grabbed one of the dossiers off the table. Chuck read the label on the dossier upside down, _' Janek Milevski'_. "Based on our first go through, Janek came through our enquiries smelling like roses. He appeared to be exactly who he told Malina he was, an economist attached to the Polish embassy. He's a single man. His degrees and education check out and he's well thought of. Apparently he has a solid diplomatic career ahead of him."

Emily was about to talk when Chuck interrupted. "Hold on. I'm assuming all of this is classified. I don't have any security clearances and I think everyone around the table is now convinced that I don't work for any intelligence agency." Chuck gave Emily a quick glance.

"That being the case, I shouldn't be hearing any of this."

Emily's tone was formal. "Chuck, we're in Switzerland and the FIS is the lead agency on this joint operation. I've decided, and my boss has agreed, to 'read you in' on these details."

She held up a hand towards Cole. "I'm told that you are highly intelligent, an excellent analyst, and we know that you are highly skilled with computers. And of course you're a good friend of Malina's. We certainly will have need of your services."

Emily reached for another dossier. It was labeled 'Chuck Irving Bartowski'. "Here is the file the FIS put together on you last year when you were cleared to work at Valyrian. Also, as you can see, here is the special clearance allowing you to stay and work in Switzerland. Of course, a key piece of information that is not here is about you being a one-time asset of the CIA/ NSA."

Sarah jumped in. "Chuck, I contacted Casey and he in turn contacted General Beckman. The General has reached out to Emily's bosses' boss and they've agreed to keep your past service to the United States off the FIS's database."

Sarah looked at Emily with a raised eyebrow. "I believe certain considerations were exchanged between the two agencies to achieve that end."

Emily cleared her throat. "Chuck, can we continue with the briefing?" Chuck nodded yes. He hadn't missed the veiled threat from Emily about him being allowed to stay in Switzerland

"We have an asset in Moscow who confirms the official record that Jankek did serve as an attaché in Moscow at the Polish embassy between 2005 and 2007. The other interesting information he passed onto us are hundreds of photographs documenting the comings and goings from the Polish embassy for a period in 2006.

"Here is one showing Janek being dropped off at the entrance. Take note of the woman. Her name is Alexandra Maltsev. She's a journalist with RTVi, it's a private Russian TV station. She has no connection that we could find to any Russian intelligence agency."

Cole took over. "Who was it who said, 'better to be lucky than good'. Well, lady luck smiled on our enquiries. When I forwarded Alexandra's name to MI6, they ran it through our system.

"Three months ago, GCHQ cracked some low level Russian codes used by the FSB in 2002. As you know, the Russians change their codes frequently, they're as paranoid about code breaking as we are.

"GCHQ went back and looked at stored transmissions from 2002. They were able to read some of the FSB messages from 2002.

"Guess whose name popped up as a 'cover name' in one of the decrypted FSB files? Yep, the same lady who dropped Janek off at the Polish embassy in Moscow in 2006, sweet, innocent, Alexandra Maltsev."

Emily interjected again. "Cole asked the CIA to run Alexandra's picture from our contact in Poland through their facial recognition software and got a hit, Alexandra Maltsev's real name is Vladmilla Tretiak, a captain in the FSB.

"That means that Janek almost certainly has been compromised by the FSB. But until we're certain we need to proceed with caution.

"We also need to do some more digging, but we think Alexandra, or should I say Vladmilla, might be his handler. So, we are now extremely suspicious of Mr. Milevski, and doubly so of his true intentions toward Malina.

"The Swiss customs and border patrol, plus all federal agencies, are on the lookout for Alexandra or Vladmilla. We're dealing with the Russisans so she could have a half dozen other aliases we don't even know about.

At some point, if she is his handler, she will want to reach out to Janek. We just don't know when or where. She may want to meet with Janek outside of Switzerland … we'll have to wait and see."

Sarah looked at Chuck as she spoke. "Emily, have you and Cole come up with a plan of action?"

Chuck was still recovering from the shock of being immersed so suddenly back into the spy world. He'd heard everything that had been said as if he was sitting in the middle of a dense fog. The words were barely registering.

He was distracted and extremely worried about Malina, much more than he was worried about himself. His problems, and his possible future with Sarah, would have to wait.

Malina was no traitor, she was a very kind, decent woman, and this bastard Janek was going to break her heart. At that moment Chuck had never hated the intelligence communities, and the people who worked in them, more.

Cole answered Sarah's question. "Chuck, we want you to convince Reudi that he should hire Sarah onto your team at Valyrian. We'll put together a detailed legend.

Emily and the FIS will pad the legend that she's a Swiss citizen from Geneva. All necessary paperwork and records will be put in place. If Reudi agrees to hire Sarah he will ask the FIS to screen her application and carry out a background check."

Cole gave Emily a quick glance. "The FIS screening of Sarah's application will of course go quickly and without a hitch. Sarah's French is excellent and her German is good. She will easily pass muster."

Emily chimed in. "Sarah also speaks fluent Polish. We're hoping that she will get close to Malina and become her friend. Janek may take one look at Sarah and decide to leave Malina alone and try to work a honey trap on Sarah. That is, if Janek's purpose is to get some sort of privileged information out of Valyrian.

"We've no idea at this point what that information might be.

"If Janek does make a move on Sarah, then we could have her ensnare him instead. Do a reverse 'honey trap' and turn Janek to do our bidding instead of the FSB's."

As Chuck listened to Cole and Emily meticulously lay out their plan, he became more and more unsettled. A slow resentment was building up down in his gut. He was grinding his back teeth together as the tension built up within him.

All of a sudden the dense fog surrounding Chuck seemed to be pushed away by a huge gust of wind. Chuck's head finally cleared. "Hold on, I don't think that's a very good plan."

All heads around the table turned towards him, waiting for him to explain himself. Everyone at the table could hear the clock on the mantelpiece ticking in the silence that followed.

Sarah felt for sure that Chuck was about to complain about her role in the plan, especially about her being used as bait to entice Janek away from Malina. She knew Chuck would hate that she had to play the seductress role.

Chuck's response caught her completely off guard.

"Emily, you might as well kick me out of Switzerland right now, because I'm not going to bring anybody into Valyrian, especially a spy, without Reudi Vischer being read in on the mission. I owe Reudi more than you can possibly appreciate.

"You see Emily, it has to do with trust, the thing you spies always ask for from your marks and assets and give so little of in return.

"Reudi trusts me implicitly, and I him. I will NOT lie to him! I will not betray his trust! So, good luck with your plan. So Emily you best get a plane ready to take me out of Switzerland and back to the States?"

After Chuck finished he locked eyes with Emily and waited.

Emily's eyes narrowed, she knew she was becoming angry but her face gave nothing away. Although her anger was directed at Chuck, she was actually mostly angry at herself.

Chuck had called her bluff. The leverage she had on him wasn't that strong to begin with, and the truth was she needed him to stay in place at Valyrian. Shit! She'd underestimated him. Cole had warned her to be careful when trying to handle Chuck, and that trying to strong arm him might not be the way to go.

Cole couldn't help but smile, but turned away from Emily so he wouldn't incur her wrath.

He'd tried to tell Emily that instead of telling Chuck what to do she should ask him for his input. He remembered his exact words to her. "Don't treat him as an asset, treat him as a team member and an analyst. Make him part of the planning process."

Cole watched Emily closely and was impressed because he knew she was really pissed off …. but you couldn't tell.

Cole broke the silence. "Chuck, why don't you lay out a plan for us that would include reading in Reudi on the mission, how might that work?"

Chuck was surprised and pleased by Cole's offer to speak his mind.

He really was ready for Emily to kick him out of Switzerland. He was pretty sure they needed him to stay at Valyrian, but he had been mentally prepared to deal with the consequences if it wasn't a bluff on Emily's part.

Better to lose the best job he'd ever had, better to lose Reudi's friendship than betray his trust. He despised the idea of Sarah being used as eye candy and playing the temptress, but he'd always struggled with that when they'd been the Intersect team in Burbank.

Chuck took two deep breaths. "Thanks. First of all, Emily in your role as a FIS agent you'll approach Reudi and ask for his help. He's a loyal citizen and loves Switzerland as much as you do.

"Reudi will be extremely protective of Malina, she was the third person he hired to work at Valyrian. He'll initially want you to arrest Janek right away. He'll definitely want to warn Malina. You'll have to be prepared for those contingencies."

Chuck stopped talking and asked if he could have some wine. Cole poured him a glass.

"The tough part will be to convince Reudi that you …" Chuck pointed at Emily.

"…will protect Malina. Now here is the way you get a team inside of Valyrian with Reudi's blessing. I happen to know that Reudi is considering expanding the business into enhancing the physical security of companies, especially their computer areas.

"We've had to turn down fifteen or twenty contracts because we don't have any expertise in that area. We've focused on the cyber security area exclusively."

Sarah had finally caught up to Chuck's train of thought. "So Chuck, you want Emily, Cole and me to come into Valyrian as new employees, possibly in a new department, as specialists in enhancing the physical security of buildings, maybe executives' homes and especially their computer assets … have I got that right?"

Chuck gave her a quick smile. "Yes, the three of you could come and go as you please because it would be expected you'd be out of the office doing inspections and the like.

"Emily, it wouldn't hurt if you have the FIS throw Valyrian two or three initial pieces of work .. you know, to prime the pump sort of thing .. well … I'll leave that to your judgment."

Chuck took a healthy sip of wine. "The final piece is to suggest to Reudi that, because Malina's on my team, I should be 'read in' on the operation. Tell him that your team will need some computer support and hacking skills.

"Oh yeah, don't forget to tell Reudi that the person needs to have excellent English language skills."

Chuck finished and slumped back into his seat. All of a sudden, he was tired and wasn't sure if his idea was going to fly.

Cole, Emily and Sarah took the bare bones of Chuck's plan refined it, argued about it and finally, after an hour, agreed that Emily would approach Reudi to help the FIS.

Emily said she would need two or three days to get clearances, identities set up and have the FIS steer two initial contracts the team would bring into Valyrian as new work.

She turned towards Chuck and fixed her green eyes on him. "Chuck, are you on board with Sarah befriending Malina and possibly carrying out a reverse 'honey trap' on Janek?"

In that moment, Chuck wasn't sure if he liked or disliked Emily. She was certainly sticking the needle in to probe how Chuck felt about Sarah's role. Was she merely being vindictive?

Or was she trying to gauge his reaction to see if he was the type of man who tended towards jealousy. A reaction that could wreck the mission the first time Janek made a move on Sarah.

"I'm thrilled Sarah is going to be close to Malina. I can't think of anybody who will be better at protecting her from Janek or, if need be, the Russians. Sarah was my protector for two years, so I know Malina will be safe.

"Sarah's role as a possible girlfriend of Janek is nothing new to me. It's nothing I haven't seen before; it happened a number of times when she was my handler in Burbank. I believe it's part of the job description for you female agents, right?"

Sarah felt like someone had slapped her across the face. Chuck's clinical and somewhat dispassionate recital of her possible role with Jankek floored her. Something wasn't tallying up. She knew absolutely that in the past, Chuck hated when she'd been the seductress, the eye candy and the temptress.

Chuck had obviously become much better at disguising his true feelings. Sarah knew they would be talking about her role when they were once again, alone together.

Chuck desperately wanted to get out of the room and leave the house in that moment. The truth was, even though he'd seen Sarah in the seductress role, it didn't mean he liked it, he would never accept it. He endured those moments when he saw her mesmerize, confuse, titillate and entice the 'marks', but he never liked it.

He remembered with crystal clear clarity what he felt when she was around the likes of Lon Kirk and what she'd been asked to do in order to further the success of the mission.

He felt mildly nauseous and the wine seemed to turn to vinegar in his stomach.

Only hours ago, Chuck had made a sort of agreement with Sarah, not to run from the problems they would face if they were going to be in a relationship. He needed space to think.

"Okay, if you don't need me for anything else. I'm going to head back to my flat."

Emily reached out and gently touched his arm. She felt sad for Chuck. In spite of his words and assurances, she sensed Chuck hated the idea of Sarah being anywhere near Janek.

Emily herself loathed having to play the seductress role and she appreciated Chuck's unspoken concerns.

"Chuck, take this cell phone. It's fully encrypted and secure. It has all of our cell numbers on it. I'll talk with you in two days. Good night."

Sarah now had a choice, let Chuck leave and talk with him tomorrow or leave with him. The right thing, the professional thing to do in front of her colleagues and peers would be to stay.

Sarah knew that Cole already knew about her feelings towards Chuck. Hell, she had refused to go to Fiji with him. Cole was no fool, he knew why she'd said no, it had been because of Chuck. And Emily already knew she loved Chuck because of their little talk two nights ago in the chalet.

To hell with it. "Chuck, hold on. We need to talk more about …. uhh ... more about Valyrian." She turned to Cole and Emily. "I'll see you both tomorrow."

As Sarah and Chuck left, Emily reached across the table with her right hand open. "Cole, you owe me 100 francs. I told you she wouldn't be staying here tonight."

 **Same night- 11pm –Chuck's Flat, Lorrainestrasse 6,- Bern**

It was only a twenty minute drive from the safe house to Chuck's flat. But the drive was made in silence, with both of them lost in their thoughts. They trudged up the stairs to the fourth floor.

Sarah stopped Chuck from reaching for his flat key and walked down the hall to the wrought iron table with the vase of fresh calla lilies, sunflowers and hydrangeas sitting on top of it.

She bent down with her right hand, felt around and quickly pulled out the spare key that Chuck had hidden.

Chuck's eye grew wide and he arched his eyebrows. "Sarah Walker, you …. you broke into my flat?"

Sarah shook her head. "Of course I didn't, I was an uninvited guest and used a key."

"Sarah, there's no difference between the two …."

"Yes, there is Chuck. A guest, even an uninvited one, always uses a key. A thieve breaks in or picks the lock. I used your key that you left for me; therefore I was an uninvited guest." She concluded her remark with an arched eyebrow.

Chuck smiled at her. "I didn't leave the key for you, I think I should be really pissed off at you… however since you broke in .. and the deed is done …did you at least clean up my bedroom a little bit? I was in a hurry to get on the road and left the room a bit of a mess?"

After Chuck opened the door and as Sarah was brushing past him, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Chuck, I'm a spy and apparently I'm now your girlfriend, I'm not your cleaning lady. We have a lot to talk about. Don't just stand there holding the door open."

 **Three Hours Later **

Sarah was once again entangled with Chuck Bartowski. He was dead to the world and she'd greatly contributed to his exhaustion.

Sarah eased out of Chuck's embrace and rested her head against her pillow, laying back with her arms resting against her stomach and staring outside the window.

Chuck's bedroom faced into an inner courtyard with a manicured lawn containing two wooden benches, that sat there like silent sentinels. The trees were bereft of leaves and the branches cast eerie shadows into their bedroom.

When they'd come into the apartment, Chuck had surprised her once again when he stopped her dead in her tracks from talking about the mission, or Malina, or her possible seductress role with Janek.

The only thing he wanted to talk about was her staying and not leaving. How could they make a relationship work? Sarah would've preferred to talk about the mission but reluctantly agreed because he was adamant.

Chuck had looked at her with his dark brown eyes and asked her, "Do you fully understand the commitment I'm asking you to make? … I would like us to hang in there as a couple .. for a whole year …. to work at being in a real relationship …. maybe not like a 'normal couple' but Sarah, I'm not sure if normal will ever really apply to us."

Sarah had been surprised and a little impressed by Chuck's no nonsense tone.

Chuck's soft snore broke her out of her thoughts. She shifted in bed and put her hands behind her head. She reflected on the answer she gave him.

She remembered clearly her tone, because she had wanted to convey to him that she was also in deadly earnest about their future. "Chuck, I may know next to nothing about what being in a real relationship means. I'm pretty sure I will be the worst girlfriend any man could have.

"But I fully understand what making a commitment is and I'll see this through, day by day, month by month for the next year. I'll stick it out, even if you want me gone in a month. I won't quit."

Chuck visibly relaxed and nodded. "Excellent, then we need to do something to .. uhh .. mark the occasion. You know to solemnize our agreement."

Sarah understood what the word solemnize meant, but what on earth was Chuck wanting them to do?

"Chuck, I think you're going to have to explain what you mean by 'solemnize'?"

Before Chuck could answer, a twinkle appeared in her blue eyes and her right hand moved quickly behind her back. In the next second, the light in the room gleamed off the edge of one of her razor sharp throwing knifes. It seemed to materialize in her hand out of thin air.

Chuck's eyes grew wide with surprise. My God, she's like a magician with those knifes, a very deadly magician.

Sarah slowly moved the knife back and forth. "What would you like to do Chuck. Perhaps we can cut the palm of each of our right hands then co-mingle our blood? Would that do the trick Chuck?"

Sarah reached for his right hand with her left hand.

Chuck swallowed around the lump in his throat and let her take his right hand. He gave a nervous laugh. "We can do that, even though I'm pretty sure I'll faint, but I was thinking that we could also .. perhaps .. you know .. try to have a real first date.

Sarah laughed out loud and the knife disappeared again as if by magic.

She let go of his hand and closed the gap between them and put her arms around his neck, standing on her tip toes. "I was hoping for the blood oath, but I'll settle for a real first date. We need to go shopping tomorrow. I want to wear something special for our first real date.

" And Chuck, we've tried Mexican and Chinese. Let's change it up, we don't want to tempt fate, okay?"

She then silently thanked all the minor and major gods, because a real first date was very high on her Bartowksi bucket list.

That led to her kissing him, and then that led very quickly to the bedroom.

Sarah smiled as she lay beside Chuck. She was feeling content when in fact she should be worried about what comes next. What about her career? What about Janek and Malina?

She shrugged her shoulders .. all that could wait for tomorrow. She'd just agreed to be Chuck's real girlfriend for the next year come hell or high water. And that created a warm feeling inside of her and made her feel content.

She looked over at Chuck as he snored gently. Chuck Bartowski was indeed a magical door into a different life from the one she knew and had known.

 _A/N- I've asked real life to give me a break so I can get the final three chapters completed_.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N** \- I continue to appreciate those who read this story and take the time to review it.

Sincere thanks to michaelfmx for his editing and valued input into the story.

 _"_ _The streets looked small, of course. The streets that we have only seen as children always do I believe when we go back to them"  
_ _―_ _ **Charles Dickens**_ _,_ _ **David Copperfield**_

 **Chapter 7**

 **Chuck's update on events**

 _Hi my name is Chuck and here are some things you may not know._

 _Two weeks ago I was dragged back into the spy world by Agent Emily Summers of the FIS. I almost wish that I hadn't gone to the Italian Embassy with Malina that evening three long weeks ago. But I did and I can't change what happened. Frankly, I don't know if I'd want to._

 _Emily dragged me back into the spy world. But on a positive note I got Sarah Walker back into my life, well .. unofficially, because .. you see … we can't really tell anyone, that she is now my real girlfriend._

 _She's my girlfriend, well for the next year at least._

 _Sarah is still struggling with what it all means but she's trying. She was right about one thing, she told me she doesn't really know a lot about being a girlfriend._

 _She is now staying with me in my flat. But she still lives out of her one carry on suitcase. I cleared out space for her in the bedroom closet. But it sits empty. I was thinking about maybe pointing out she could unpack .. but nahh, best to let sleeping Sarahs lie._

 _Things sort of happen that wouldn't happen in a 'normal' relationship. A week ago I nicked my finger on one of her knifes in my, or maybe I should say our, bed._

 _Okay…..maybe I should explain what happened. You see, we were tangled up with each other, arms and legs moving around enthusiastically and my hand slipped under her pillow._

 _She keeps her damn gun and her knife under her pillow. After we put a bandage on my finger and changed the bloody bed sheets, she looked at me. "Chuck there's a 30 foot rule for agents. An agent needs to be within 30 feet of a gun or a knife."_

 _After a heated exchange about the precise meaning of the word 'or', she grudgingly agreed to keep the gun under the pillow but loose the knife. Thank God, that knife scares the crap out of me. She has knifes hidden in my study and another smaller caliber gun hidden in a cupboard over the sink._

 _Oh, yeah I should tell you we finally had a real first date._

 _Usually, I would've asked Reudi's advice about where you would take someone special for a memorable evening in Bern. That, of course, wasn't going to be possible. I truly wish I could tell Reudi about Sarah._

 _Eventually, I called Cole. He knows Sarah is staying with me. He and Emily both know that there's something going on between the two of us. Sarah has forbidden me to say anything about our arrangement … at least not yet. To tell the truth, I think her two spy colleagues have already figured it out._

 _Cole, in my mind, is the iconic international man of mystery and savoir faire. I've always imagined Cole travels throughout the world hopping on and off jets wearing an Armani tux. The only thing he carries with him is his British passport and a black American Express Card._

 _I tried to be subtle and asked Cole where he would take someone for a special dinner. He asked me if I liked cellars. I asked him if he meant the dank, moldy, chains hanging from the walls with rats running around kind of cellars._

 _He laughed and told me to go to Wein & Sein. It's located in a brick cellar in the old part of Bern, near the Munster. He even went one step further and asked me when I wanted to go. I told him the date and time and, like a true British gentleman, he offered his assistance. He said he knew one of the owners and would make sure a table was reserved for me under my name. _

_Thank you Cole, I forgive you for kissing Sarah underneath the Orange-Orange._

 _I'm happy to report to you that Casey didn't show up, nor did any Fulcrum agents to wreck the evening._

 _Sarah, of course, turned heads from the moment we left my flat to catch a taxi._

 _I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Neither could the taxi driver. I'm not sure how we arrived at the restaurant in one piece._

 _The purple dress she'd bought had a halter top. It left her shoulders bare and cut off above the knees. Oh yeah, it was backless. She wore her hair so it gently fell onto her shoulders. Not a hair was out of place, and I kept saying to myself, breath in … breathe out._

 _Forget the dress, I couldn't stop looking at her intensely blue eyes. Once or twice she had to repeat my name to get my attention; each time, after I was able to refocus she gave me this knowing smile. What did she know?_

 _At one point, when we were riding over to the restaurant in the taxi, I leaned over to her and whispered in her ear. "You know Sarah, every man and woman in that restaurant is going to notice what a rare beauty you are."_

 _Sarah fixed me with her gaze. Then she leaned towards me and I breathed in a subtle scent of perfume. The smell of which will stay with me for the next forty years. Her warm breath and soft voice wafted into my ear. "Chuck, you dolt, this dress is for you. Tonight, I don't give a damn about anyone else's opinion. You do get it, right .. this is my way of saying how special you are to me and .. and that I'm very, very pleased to be your girlfriend."_

 _Sarah's eyes were moist and she quickly added. "Where are we going dancing afterwards?"_

 _I didn't have the courage to say I hadn't planned on going dancing afterwards. No problem, Sarah knew where to go. And we danced the night away, again without interruption. Afterwards, when we got back to the apartment it was one of the most incredible ..…_

 _Oh yeah, sorry I guess I should tell you about the mission._

 _Emily met with Reudi and 'read him in' on the mission. Reudi, as I suspected, was more than willing to help the FIS and was appalled that Malina might be in some sort of danger. I found out later that he and Emily fought over his desire to tell Malina right away._

 _Emily and Reudi took several hours to hammer out what would happen in the ensuing days and, possibly, weeks._

 _Finally, Reudi agreed that Emily and Cole would be in a new department that he would set up to deal with the physical security of buildings, computer centers and select executives' homes._

 _It was also agreed that Reudi would 'read me' in on the mission. He and Emily took me into a room and briefed me. Emily should win an Oscar, because she acted like we'd just met for the first time. Oh, yeah, she turned up at Valyrian looking very professional but beautiful nonetheless._

 _I almost laughed out loud when Reudi told me later that he had been very clear with Emily that she, Sarah and Cole had to do real work, while they were at Valyrian, with real clients. Not just sit around on their asses being spies._

 _Reudi can sometimes be really picky, and he is a bit of a Nerd. That's why I like him so much. He took a long time choosing a name for the new department, because 'Physical Security Department' sounded truly boring in English, French and German._

 _In the end he put up a yellow sign outside Emily and Cole's office with an image of Gandalf holding up his staff; it had the inscription, 'Du kannst nicht vorbei!'_

 _Reudi's final touch was to get everyone at Valyrian yellow T-shirts with the Gandalf's image and German wording on the front to celebrate our new department. The staff loved the T-shirts._

 _Emily was appalled that she had to wear the yellow T-shirt. But I think Cole secretly liked it._

 _Reudi agreed that Sarah Walker would come into my department and become my assistant, working closely with Malina. The idea was that they would become friends and Sarah would keep a close eye on her and keep her safe._

 _Sarah came into work that first day dressed in a plain dull, loose fitting brown outfit. Her hair was done up in a tight bun at the back of her head. She wore no makeup, no finger nail polish, no perfume and her beautiful blue eyes were muted by dark rimmed glasses._

 _To my mind I think Sarah failed miserably in trying to dress down and making herself look average. All she accomplished was to make plain dull brown outfits look really sexy._

 _I, of course, had to pretend we were meeting for the first time as I introduced her to members of my team._

 _Sarah's language skills were a huge asset. I think you already know she speaks French, German and English, so she was able to talk with every member of my team better than I could._

 _Malina's jaw dropped open the second day that Sarah was on the job. She pretended to trip on the edge of a carpet and swore like a trooper in Polish. It only took two additional days before Malina and Sarah were talking regularly in Polish._

 _So the good news is that Emily and Cole are working at Valyrian. Sarah is working as my assistant and she is well on the road to gaining Malina's trust._

 _And as I say that to you, I feel like a total shit._

 _I mean, I can't tell Malina what we suspect. I can't tell Reudi the whole truth. And I feel even shittier about having to pretend that I don't know Sarah._

 _On the other hand, I'm very proud that my dealings with Sarah as an employee are above reproach. I'm very formal with Sarah and apart from work issues I don't talk with her at all. I'm very businesslike, always polite and civil but a little distance._

 _Oh, one more thing to tell you about. Janek has gone off to the UK for a week. He's attending an economics conference on the impact of the Euro on foreign capital coming into the EU. I was hoping I could've gone to that conference … just joking!_

 _Cole followed him to the UK in order to coordinate surveillance with MI5._

 **November 18, 2010- 10:30pm-** **Chuck's Flat, Lorrainestrasse 6,- Bern**

Chuck was sitting at the kitchen table reading the novella Mystery Knight.

He heard the front door open and smiled to himself. He was on pins and needles, wanting to find out about how Sarah's dinner with Malina had turned out.

He got up to give Sarah a hug. However, one look at the stern expression on Sarah's face and he knew there wasn't going to be any hug, let alone a kiss. He quickly sat back down without saying a word and watched Sarah disappear into the bedroom.

Chuck dearly wished he could reach out and call Ellie and talk with her about how complex his life had become since he started living with Sarah Walker. And this was after only two weeks of being her boyfriend.

The loud noises from the bedroom told him Sarah was getting ready for bed.

Shit. What happened? When she left the flat three hours ago she was in a very upbeat mood? He considered going to see if she was OK, but decided against it, thinking that she needed some time to herself.

After all, this was Sarah Walker, the most independent person he had ever known. He didn't know how she would react if he tried to help right now.

So Chuck kept his head down, reading his book, and didn't look up when Sarah sat down at the table across from him in her pajamas. He counted in his head, one .. two ..

"Chuck, as my boyfriend isn't it _de rigueur_ for you to ask me how I am?" she asked in an icy tone.

Chuck looked up and gave her a weak smile. "I think you're upset ….but I'm not really sure why. It can't be something I did. I mean, when you left …"

"Do you know what Malina told me over dinner Chuck?" Sarah now had Chuck's attention.

" Hmm … well apparently everyone on your team is wondering why you're treating me so differently from everyone else. Perhaps you'd like to know what the office gossip is saying about the two of us?"

Chuck gulped. "Sarah, I haven't put a foot wrong. I'm very businesslike with you. I'm very polite and civil. I …"

Sarah cut him off. "Chuck, you joke around with every other member of the team. You ask them how their families are and what their plans are for the weekend. As far as I can see you're very relaxed and friendly around everyone else."

Sarah leaned forward. "But with me you're tight as a drum."

Chuck sat back in his seat, surprised. "What? I'm trying to let people know that there isn't anything going on between us. That's quite hard to do you know?"

"Well, Chuck, maybe you'd like to hear Malina's theory about us.

"She thinks the way you're acting is because you're nervous around me and that you really like me. She was even kidding me that she thinks you're terrified that I will shoot down any possible advances you might make towards me. That's why you're being so formal and extra careful around me."

Sarah sat back in her chair and fixed him with her gaze. "Malina believes you're going out of your way to indicate that you're not interested in me, when in fact you are."

Sarah leaned forward. "Malina then asked me if I liked you?"

Chuck knew he should keep this discussion serious but he couldn't help himself and laughed. "Well, what did you say?"

Sarah narrowed her eyes. "I said you seemed like a nice guy, but perhaps a little too nerdy for my taste. And maybe you'd become more relaxed around me once you got to know me. So Chuck, starting tomorrow, you need to treat me like everyone else, okay?"

Chuck groaned. "Sarah, you're not like everyone else. You can beat the shit out of everyone on my team. Most times you're packing a gun and I don't know how many knifes."

Sarah went to the fridge and grabbed some water. "We'll start slow. You should ask me what I'm doing for the weekend."

"Sarah, I know what you're doing for the weekend, we're going hiking at…" Chuck was cut off.

"Chuck, just ask me the damn questions and I'll handle the rest, alright?"

Chuck nodded, and was very happy that tomorrow was Friday. He'd have the weekend to work with Sarah on how the hell he was supposed to interact with her at work. He almost longed for the old Burbank days, okay on second thought, maybe not.

He was fully aware that he and Sarah couldn't be viewed by the staff at Valyrian as a possible couple. He swallowed his dislike of the fact that Sarah still might have to entice Janek into a honey trap.

He sighed inwardly and headed towards the bedroom. He should get plenty of sleep tonight. It didn't auger well for him when Sarah wore pajamas to bed.

 **November 19** **th** **, 10am -Bern Switzerland- Offices of Valyrian (GmbH) **

Chuck was not looking forward to his little play acting with Sarah that he was about to undertake.

As he predicted he got way too much sleep last night. And before he left for work Sarah reminded him that he needed to ask her some questions at work and be more relaxed around her.

Chuck walked up to Sarah's desk. "So Sarah, it looks like it's going to a lovely weekend. Any plans?"

Sarah gave him a smile he'd seen many times before when they'd been on missions back in Burbank. It looked real but it wasn't. "Well I might do a day trip out to Fribourg." Chuck looked interested and sat on the edge of Sarah's desk.

"So, is that where your boyfriend lives?" Chuck dearly wished he could take that question back, especially when he saw Sarah's left eyebrow raise just a fraction. He knew this could well mean another night with Sarah wearing pajamas to bed.

"No, I want to go and see the Musee d'Art. It has some wonderful medieval art." Sarah gave Chuck another patented spy smile. He'd also seen that smile before and he knew she was pissed.

Chuck realized that it was time to beat a hasty retreat. He eased himself off her desk. "Well, ahh .. have a great weekend."

 **November 20, 2010- Saturday 9:00am-** **Chuck's Flat, Lorrainestrasse 6,- Bern**

Chuck was sitting across the table from Sarah.

He had been slowly learning small things about his girlfriend. Some things he remembered from Burbank.

She liked her coffee black, she liked to sleep on the left side of the bed and she hated his sweet sugary cereals. Very quickly the sugary cereals had been consigned to the garbage, and he was now eating a healthy muesli nut mix she liked with plain yogurt.

She ran ten kilometers every morning, five days a week. She was now working on him to get up and join her. So far he'd resisted, but he sensed he'd lose that battle eventually.

Chuck cleared up the breakfast dishes, while Sarah finished her coffee.

Chuck had waited until today to try out a new idea on her. He was very conscious that Sarah needed to start talking about her past. Not her CIA past but her past before they recruited her.

The trouble was that Sarah didn't talk about her past easily. It was like pulling teeth.

So he sat down and reached into a brown bag at his feet, bringing out a miniature hour glass. Actually, it was a five minute glass. When it was turned over, the sand took exactly five minutes to empty.

Sarah was savoring her coffee and she arched her eyebrows when he placed the miniature hour glass on the table. "Sarah, I think we both need to share with each other … uhh ..I mean, we need to work at sharing our past lives with each other. I don't want to know about your CIA past. But we do need to better understand each other."

"Chuck, I've read your file. By the time the mission in Burbank finished, it was over twelve inches thick. I've read your psych profiles. What your weaknesses are and what your strengths are." Sarah gave Chuck a guarded look and sat back. "I think I know you pretty well."

Chuck felt anger stir within him. He knew that the red blush had crept up his neck and to the tips of his ears. He could feel the burning sensation of the blush.

But he also knew that getting angry at Sarah and her damnable arrogance wouldn't get him to where he wanted to go. It took him a moment to collect his wits while he bit back several scathing retorts.

He cleared his throat. "So, each day we each get five minutes to tell the other person something they don't know from our past. I'll start."

Chuck turned the glass over and as the sand trickled through he told Sarah about a trip he and Ellie went on with his mother before she left for parts unknown. He knew the trip wasn't in any file the CIA or NSA had. Only he, Ellie and his mom knew of the special trip to visit her father, who was losing his battle with cancer.

Sarah listened to his story keenly.

"Okay, now it's your turn." Chuck turned the hour glass over and the sand trickled through. The morning sun caught the individual grains of sand has they passed through the narrowed neck of the hour glass.

Sarah said not a single word and watched the grains of sand fall until the five minutes were up. She then looked up at Chuck. Their eyes locked, brown on blue. After several seconds, Chuck stood up. "Okay, not a bad start. I'm sure it'll become easier over time. Let's get ready for our hike."

Chuck went into the bedroom and left Sarah sitting at the table. Her eyes were moist and she was working her jaw back and forth. Because she literally couldn't think of one think she wanted to share with him in that special moment that he'd created.

Sarah knew that Chuck had been disappointed. He'd tried to hide it but his body language had betrayed him.

What the hell was wrong with her? How many chances would Chuck give her to open up before he'd throw his hands up in the air and just give up?

 **November 23, 2010- 7:00pm- Brasil Grille ,** **Kirchenfeldstrasse 70** **,- Bern**

Sarah had slowly but surely guided Malina into talking about Janek. Malina had finally confided to Sarah that she thought she was in love with him. But also shared that her father, Jacob, was not happy with her seeing Janek.

Sarah asked if Jacob had ever met Janek? Malina told her they'd talked briefly on a couple of occasions. "Sarah, you have to understand that my father left Poland in 1982. The year he left, he had just been granted his doctorate at the University of Warsaw. His dissertation was on the conservation and preservation of historical art and archival documents.

"He won't talk to me about those times, or why he left so abruptly.

"My mother, thank God, is more forthcoming. She told me he had to leave Poland, and quickly. He believed his life was in danger from the communists. Even my mother doesn't know the full story. He simply won't talk about it.

"In the fall of 1982, he had been granted permission by the communists to attend a conference in Zurich. In the middle of the night, he managed to slip out of his hotel bedroom and run away from his communist watchers.

"He then fled to Bern.

"He knew a professor in Bern who he'd collaborated with on his dissertation. Christoph Amtstutz was a renowned expert at the University of Bern on the conservation of antiquities and treasures from the past.

"He helped my father and agreed to be his sponsor in order for him to stay in Switzerland. My father was eventually given a job at the University here in Bern as a research assistant. And that's where he met my mother. I came along two years later."

Malina looked at Sarah and sighed. "My father doesn't like me seeing Janek. It's not that he doesn't like him. They've only talked briefly twice. Jacob doesn't want to even contemplate the idea that Janek may whisk me away to Poland. You see my father has sworn to me and my mother that he'll never go back there. But he won't tell us why."

As Malina was chatting, Janek appeared at the entrance to the cafe. When he saw Malina, his face lit up and he quickly joined them at the table. Malina had already told Janek about Sarah and how much she wanted him to meet her.

Malina switched to Polish and made the introductions.

Sarah had purposely dressed to make sure Janek would notice her. She was careful to select clothes that would be flattering to her figure but tasteful.

She was an expert at reading men from all walks of life. She smiled to herself, thinking that Chuck was the rare exception, since he continuously surprised her.

Janek was a good looking man in his early thirties. He had dressed casually for the evening and was very relaxed. He was obviously well travelled and erudite, a man of the world.

It was obvious to Sarah that Janek doted on Malina. But that might just be him working hard at the 'honey trap'.

The conversation flowed back and forth in an easy manner. Sarah was the perfect listener. She carefully prompted Malina and Janek to talk about themselves and their relationship.

She sent subtle signals to Janek to let him know how interested she was in what he was saying, nothing too overt. This was only a first meeting, and Sarah was getting a sense of the man, filing away information about him that she would go over with the team later.

As they were enjoying their second glass of wine, Malina excused herself and went to the ladies room.

Janek looked at Sarah and switched to German. "Sarah, I commend you on your Polish. For someone who is not a native speaker it's very good. Where did you learn to speak so well?"

Her spy instincts told her to be very careful around Janek. She didn't want to sound a false note or miss a beat with him; given this was the first contact with him.

He was a very smart man and she needed to tread carefully. Sometimes, out of real necessity, a spy told the truth.

Sarah smiled. "My maternal grandmother was Polish. I spent a lot of time with her when I was growing up. My parents had .. well, it was a troubled marriage. I spent a lot of time with her. She spoke halting French and was always much more comfortable in Polish."

What Janek didn't know was that Sarah had just told him the truth about a tiny piece of her past.

In that moment, it wasn't lost on Sarah that she had just shared something true about herself on a mission, but had not said a single word to Chuck when he'd tried to get her to open up with the hour glass.

Janek leaned forward and volunteered some information. "I'm hearing certain words you use. They are in the Kresy dialect. It's an area in the northeast of Poland. I think your grandmother came from this area. Your accent, and the way you pronounce certain words, are quite familiar to me. Do you know where she came from exactly?"

Sarah showed genuine surprise. "No, neither my mother nor my _Babcia_ ever shared that with me."

Janek smiled at her. "There are people at the University of Warsaw who, if they had two or three minutes of a recording of your grandmother's voice, could pick out her place of birth within say 50 kilometers. Is your grandmother still with us?"

Sarah shook her head and felt the lump in her throat.

Janek nodded his understanding. "A pity then, we'll never know, but I'm confident she was from the northeast."

Sarah sat back in her seat as Malina returned. Something was wrong here and Sarah was deeply troubled at the recent turn of events. Janek really liked Malina and, it wasn't an act. Sarah had run enough honey traps to spot a phony.

So what was she missing? What game was Janek really playing?

Janek had certainly noticed Sarah. She'd shown him just the right amount of subtle attention that if he had a wandering eye she would've responded favorably to his attentions.

But he hadn't put a foot wrong all evening.

He'd been attentive to Malina and charming to Sarah. The truth was he only had eyes for Malina.

She needed to talk with the team. They were missing something critical in their assumptions. Sarah couldn't put her finger on it. Janek was seen with Alexandra or Vladmilla, so something was going on. What was she missing?

Janek dropped Sarah off at an address that was four blocks from Chuck's flat.

Malina gave her a hug and was beaming, because she'd had a lovely evening. Janek would now drive Malina home. The usual routine was for him to drop her off four doors away from her house in order not to antagonize Jacob.

Sarah waved goodbye to them and as the car sped away, up the road. When they were finally out of sight she pulled out her cell.

"Walker, secure."

"Cole, secure."

"Cole, we need to meet tomorrow night and reevaluate our mission parameters. Something's not clicking here. I'll bring Chuck over … say 1900 hours. Okay? Night."

Sarah walked around aimlessly for ten minutes checking for anybody who might be following her. Once she was happy she wasn't being followed she ducked down an alley, near Chuck's flat.

There was a fence at the end of the alley, which Sarah had cut a hole in, big enough for her to slip through, during one of her morning runs. She then hurried to Chuck's flat.

She'd tell Chuck about the meeting tomorrow. There was something more important she needed to do … and it had to be done tonight."

 **That same night, 10:00pm-** **Chuck's Flat, Lorrainestrasse 6,- Bern**

Chuck was in bed when he heard Sarah come into the flat. Chuck shouted out, "Hello".

Sarah came into the bedroom and looked at him very intensely. "Chuck, we need to talk. Do you mind if we do it at the kitchen table?" Chuck shrugged okay and got up.

When he came out, Sarah was sitting down and she looked nervous. Sarah Walker hardly ever looked nervous, at least on the outside. This made Chuck's anxiety sky rocket. What the hell was going on?

"Sarah, is everything alright? Did something happen at dinner with Janek? Is Malina okay?"

Sarah quickly brushed aside his questions. "Chuck, Malina's fine. Dinner went alright. The team is meeting tomorrow. I'll go over everything with you at the team meeting. But you and I need to talk about something else, something important."

Sarah reached behind her and put the miniature hour glass on the table. She looked at Chuck and turned the hour glass over. "Three years ago, you asked me a question. The answer to your question … is .. Lisa."

Chuck hesitated because he'd asked Sarah a lot of questions when they were back in Burbank. This was like Jeopardy, "Uhh …what is .."

Sarah spoke softly. "Chuck, my middle name is Lisa. Do you remember the question you asked me back in my room?"

It came back to Chuck and his eyes grew wide. Chuck had an eidetic memory. "Yes, I think I said, _'_ _What's your middle name? Can't you just tell me your middle name?'_

Sarah gave Chuck the saddest smile. "Well, now you know...three years ago, when you were in my room, I whispered my middle name to you when your back was turned. I wanted to tell you .. but…"

Chuck reached across the table and gripped her forearm and squeezed.

"Chuck, there's more …. there's something else I want to share. When I was very young, I spent a lot of time with my grandmother, my Babcia, she was Polish and was my mom's mom…"

Sarah then told Chuck of her memories of her Polish grandmother. When the sand ran out, Chuck reached across the table and gently laced their fingers together. His voice was husky and his eyes were moist. "Sarah, thank you .."

Sarah cut him off and turned the hour glass over. "Chuck, let me finish." For the next five minutes Sarah couldn't talk fast enough about her grandmother and her earliest years with her.

This time when the sand ran out she immediately stopped talking and sat back in her chair.

She looked at Chuck and was clearly struggling with her emotions. She could feel them swirling inside of her. Sarah felt like a burden had been lifted off her shoulders. She felt somehow lighter. But she was also bone weary. There was just one thing she wanted to do now.

"Chuck, I'm really tired. We'll talk about my dinner with Janek and Malina tomorrow. But right now, all I want to do is for you to take me to bed and hold me.

 _A/N – Okay, working hard on Chapters 8 & 9\. Those who like spy intrigue and history may enjoy what's coming._


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N** \- Thank you for your reviews and PMs. It is greatly appreciated. This chapter talks about Janek, spy intrigue and other such machinations. This is a Charah lite chapter.

Sincere thanks to michaelfmx for his editing and valued input into the story.

 _"_ _All we can know is that we know nothing. And that's the height of human wisdom."  
_ _―_ _ **Leo Tolstoy**_ _,_ _ **War and Peace**_

 _"_ _Vyshinsky: 'Why then did you come back to Russia?'_

 _Count Rostov: 'I missed the climate'_

 _―_ ** _A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles_**

 **Chapter 8**

 **November 24** **th** **, 2010, 2pm -Bern Switzerland- Offices of Valyrian (GmbH) **

Sarah reminded herself to stop at the entrance to Chuck's office and not to just barge in, after all, he was her boss. She knocked on the wooden frame of his open door lightly. "Chuck, I was wondering if I can leave a little early today … say 3pm. I've an appointment that I can't miss."

If there were no deadlines, the people on Chuck's team usually knocked off at 5:00pm.

The somewhat artificial dialogue between them was for the exclusive benefit of the other team members seated just outside Chuck's office.

Chuck looked up and caught the twinkle in Sarah's eye. He thought that maybe she might be remembering what happened last night.

They'd gone to bed immediately after Sarah's unexpected, but very welcome, sharing about her past. Chuck was still smiling to himself at that unexpected event. Sarah had such a defended and guarded persona that her actions had caught him completely unprepared.

Sarah's request for them to go to bed and for him to just hold her was quickly acted upon.

Chuck could easily see how much emotional and psychic energy it had taken for Sarah to open herself up. She must have been mentally exhausted. So when they'd gotten into bed, he'd drawn Sarah close to him. Her head was resting on his chest and his left arm was around her shoulders.

Chuck had started to relax because it was just so damn comfortable, it was just so right. He started to drift off with his eyes getting heavier by the second, Morpheus was calling his name, over and over again.

He was just about asleep when Sarah started to make little circles with her index finger on his chest. Chuck knew that an involuntary shudder had passed through his body when she started. But he tried to relax and just enjoy the sensation … but .. well .. she didn't stop .. and the idea of sleep vanished .. and .. one thing led to the other and … "

Chuck shook the memory of last night away and quickly refocused his thoughts. He cleared his throat. "Ah, yeah, sure that's no problem Sarah. You can make up the time tomorrow or the next day." Sarah arched her left eyebrow as if to say, _'Make up the time? Really!_ '

Chuck smiled to himself and couldn't resist. "If that's not convenient, then pop in sometime on the weekend and you can catch up on any work that you're perhaps a little behind on." He quickly looked down at the work on his desk because he didn't want to see Sarah's reaction. He knew that he was going to pay dearly for his last remark.

 **Same Day, 7:00pm –Swiss Government Safe House - 18 Selibuhlweg, Bern **

There was a light rain falling, almost a mist, that had just started up as Chuck approached the door of the safe house. The street only had two lampposts and there were a lot of shadows surrounding the hundred year old house. Chuck wondered if the limited amount of lighting on the street had been purposely arranged by the FIS.

He knew that inside the house, they had infrared cameras set up along with normal CCTV cameras and motion sensors that had their electronic and optical fingers reaching out and ready to capture anyone who approached, be they friend or foe.

Sarah was going to address the team with her concerns and unanswered questions about Janek. She'd told Chuck she would cover all those questions with the team tonight.

Cole answered the door and quickly looked over Chuck's shoulder for any movement, or perhaps someone tailing Chuck. Chuck smiled. "Anybody following?"

Cole laughed. "Sorry Chuck, force of habit I'm afraid. I take it Casey and Sarah trained you on some basic counter surveillance methods?"

Chuck laughed. "Let's just say that once Casey's voice is in your head, it doesn't really go away."

Chuck changed his voice to ape Casey's. "Listen up Moron! Change your route, double back, stop suddenly and turn around. Use any and all reflective surfaces to see if anyone is tracking you. If you see a face twice, that's once too many, call us because you're probably in deep shit.

"And one more thing Bartowski. From time to time, disappear around a corner, or hide behind a bush or in a doorway. Stand in the shadows and watch for five or ten minutes and observe." When Chuck finished talking like Casey, he grunted once and shrugged his shoulders.

Cole started to laugh. "Why Chuck, I didn't know you were such a good mimic. By the way, I wouldn't let Casey ever hear you taking the 'mickey' out of him."

Chuck was hanging up his coat when the door to the basement opened and Emily and Sarah emerged. His eyes widened as he took in the two women. They were in loose fitting T-shirts and yoga pants, but what caught his attention was that they looked like they'd been in a cat fight.

Their hair was disheveled, plastered against their scalps and damp with sweat. Sarah had dried blood under her nose. Emily definitely had a fat lip and what looked like a bruise on her forearm.

They were both grinning from ear to ear. Chuck wondered if this was some required bonding ritual for deadly female ninja spies.

Cole shook his head. "They went out earlier and bought some tatami mats and created a little dojo downstairs. They've been at it for the last hour."

Emily grabbed two towels from the bathroom and threw one to Sarah. "That was so much fun. One of the things I hate when I'm on a mission is not having access to my regular dojo. Same time tomorrow Sarah?"

Sarah wiped the perspiration off her face. "I'm not sure Emily; apparently my boss wants me to make up the time for leaving early today for my appointment here with you."

Sarah looked at Chuck and actually winked at him. That was only the third time she'd winked at him and he loved it.

Sarah Walker might actually be changing in front of his eyes.

Chuck was about to comment when Emily cut him off. "Yes, your boss has quite the reputation at Valyrian." She looked over at Chuck. ".. for being a bit of a slave driver."

Chuck shook his head and turned to Cole. "When is it your turn to go downstairs to the fighting pit and face one of these hellions? Cole narrowed his eyes. "I'll pass. In another month, I'm due to go on a refresher course at Hereford with the lads in the 22nd Regiment. I'll get plenty of cuts and bruises then, no need to rush the pain."

They all headed for the kitchen, grabbed some water and then sat down at the Kitchen table. Eventually all eyes turned to Sarah. Chuck marveled at the sudden metamorphosis that Sarah went through as she sipped her water.

The genuine smile faded from her face. The humor and twinkle in her blue eyes he'd enjoyed so much just moments ago was suddenly gone. It seemed to Chuck that the azure blue color visibly darkened to an ultramarine shade.

Sarah moved a stray piece of hair away from her eye. "Let's go over the facts and then I'll put my questions and concerns on the table.

"Fact: We know that Janek was in Moscow in 2006 and that he was in the company of an FSB Captain , Vladmilla Tretiak, who was pretending to be a TV News reporter. That's not in question.

"Fact: We know that Janek first met Malina five weeks ago, and since then has been in an intense relationship with her. This relationship is being carried on somewhat in secrecy because of her father's disapproval of Janek." Sarah paused for a couple of seconds. "Actually, Jacob is vehemently opposed to the possibility that Malina might go back to Poland.

"Now, as you know, I met Janek last night. It was a first contact and I was being low key. I wanted to gauge Janek's personality. I also wanted to see how the two of them interacted with each other."

Sarah paused and dearly wished she could skip this next part of the briefing to spare Chuck's feelings.

Chuck hadn't said one blessed thing to her about his dislike for her trying to tempt Janek into a relationship with her. Before she continued talking she stole a glance towards him, hoping to catch his eye, so he knew this wasn't easy for her either.

But Chuck was looking down at his hands, which were folded in front of him. Damn. Sarah took a breath and continued.

"I also engaged in what I call level one flirtation with Janek." Sarah looked across at Emily, who knew exactly what Sarah was talking about.

"I dressed to get his attention, classy but nothing over the top. My body language was not suggestive but was open and very friendly. I had to be careful, since Malina was sitting beside me. I had no desire to invite her anger at me for openly flirting with her boyfriend.

"To be honest … Malina wasn't paying a lot of attention to me. She obviously is deeply in love with the Janek.

Chuck slowly raised his head in order to look at everyone around the table. He was struggling with what he was hearing. Damn it! Malina was his team member at work, hell she was more than that, she was a friend. And Sarah was his girlfriend of about two weeks.

As far as he was concerned, Sarah was playing with nitroglycerin. This whole 'honey trap' crap could blow up in all their faces. And when the smoke cleared, it could leave some permanent scars. Shit!

Sarah knew that Chuck was struggling with what he was hearing. All she wanted to do at this exact moment was to stand up take him by the hand and walk out into the backyard. She wanted to be alone with him and talk with him about his feelings and concerns, to assure him that she was okay with what the job sometimes required her to do.

The very fact she was worried about Chuck's reactions, in the middle of an important briefing told Sarah that she was changing. She was having more and more difficulty in compartmentalizing her feelings, especially when they were about Chuck.

Sarah took two deep breaths. "When I was alone with Janek, even though I was sending out signals that I might be open to any of his advances, he didn't take the bait, he was the perfect gentlemen.

"My seven years experience with this sort of thing tells me … well …. he's not interested in me. But when Malina came back and joined us at the table …. his eyes danced with delight and warmth."

Emily finally spoke. "If I was to approach Janek, do you think he would respond to a brunette, someone different? Maybe his arousal template is wired for certain types of women?"

Chuck wanted to scream. My God, how could they be so clinical and detached about entrapping a human being into betraying someone who was already in a relationship? His left leg started to move up and down nervously under the table.

Sarah was watching Emily and keeping an eye on Chuck. She felt Chuck's anger at Emily's suggestion she have a go at entrapping Janek.

Later she and Chuck would have to talk about this. She sighed inwardly; there wouldn't be a lot of sleep tonight as they tried to sort things out.

Sarah understood Emily's question. "No, Emily, I think it would be a waste of time. If Janek started out to entrap Malina, it has boomeranged on him, he's totally compromised."

As soon as the words were out of Sarah's mouth, she realized what she said and avoided looking at Chuck, since she wasn't sure if she had managed to keep the blush from rising in her cheeks.

My God, how long had it taken for her to be compromised with her asset, one Charles Irving Bartowski, a week? A month? Her heart surely knew well before her brain that she was compromised, but in the past Sarah Walker hadn't been used to listening to her heart.

Cole placed both his hands on the table. "This doesn't make sense. Is Janek working for the FSB? It seems likely. Is Janek really in love with Malina? It seems he is. So was he trying to run a 'honey trap' but got ensnared himself?

"If so, then he'll be twisting in the wind with his conscience and his very real feelings for her. He'll want to protect Malina. We can approach him and use his love for Malina as leverage to turn him."

The silence around the table was broken when Emily's secure phone buzzed and vibrated on the oak table, again and again. Emily was about to switch it off when she noticed the number. Her demeanor changed instantly and she sat up a little straighter.

All eyes turned towards Emily as the team sensed that the caller was high up on the FIS food chain.

Emily cleared her throat and pressed talk. There were several 'Jas' spoken and then Emily turned to the group. "I'm talking to the Director of FIS and to the Federal Minister he reports to. They wish to talk with the team."

Emily touched the speaker button and made the introductions in English. "Cole, Sarah and Charles on the phone are the FIS Director Frau Anna Stager and her boss the Federal Minister for security, Herr Carl Ladnier."

The Federal Minister wasted no time. "Once this call is ended, each of you will receive a phone call from your respective agencies. Your bosses will validate what I'm about to tell you.

"In about fifteen minutes you will have a special visitor. He will introduce himself to you and explain why he has come and what is expected of each of you. Let me be absolutely clear, you will give this individual your fullest and complete cooperation. We deem what comes next as an important matter to Switzerland and, as you will find out, your governments feel the same."

Director Anna Stager spoke next. "I've spoken to your bosses. We are agreed that Agent Summers will be the team leader. It is expected that the mission will take place in Switzerland. Any resource she needs will be made available to her. As of this moment, thirteen people in the entire world know about this mission. We will not be adding to that number. Good luck."

Emily made sure the call was disconnected and slumped back in her chair, lost in her thoughts and starting to sense the immense responsibility that was about to be placed on her shoulders.

Cole wondered who would reach out to him from SIS. A minute later, his secure phone started to buzz. He answered and when he heard the voice on the other end his eyes widened. The call took less than two minutes and he hung up.

He looked around the table. "I've only talked to Sir Francis de Guingand once before. I mean after all, not many MI6 agents talk directly to **'C'** , he is a rather remote figure in my world. He just gave me my marching orders, a very important mission, full cooperation and Emily is the team leader."

Sarah knew she was next and wasn't disappointed. She picked up the phone and sat a little straighter. She was talking to the CIA Director and the National Security Advisor.

Once again the call was brief and to the point.

Sarah disconnected the call and placed her cell phone on the table.

Chuck was beyond curious and leaned forward, waiting for her to say something. Sarah took a breath. "Well, well. It appears I'm now detached from being at the US Embassy and I no longer report to the Station Chief. I now report directly to the Director of the CIA. The other caller was the National Security Advisor and I was told how important this mission was and to give my full and complete cooperation; oh, one more thing."

Sarah looked over at Chuck and he immediately knew that what was coming next wasn't going to be great news for him.

"Chuck, for the duration of this mission, you are now in the employ of the CIA. You are my computer and technical support, and my analyst. The Director is keeping you off the official books for now. He reminded me that he is fully acquainted with your file, your past service and unique abilities. Your security clearance is now the same as mine."

The other team members were now lost in their own thoughts as each of them glanced at the clock ticking away on the side table. Intermittently, they would take turns stealing glances at the front door.

Chuck dearly wanted to get up from the table and look out the little window in the front door to see who the hell was coming. The three professional spies gathered around him were like cats on a hot tin roof, they could barely sit still.

The mysterious caller was now due in about three minutes.

Emily cleared her gun off the table and Cole did the same.

Sarah looked at Emily. "Don't the two of us look just great? We'll make such a good first impression on whoever's coming to visit."

Neither of them had changed from their sparring clothes and they still looked a bit battered and worse for wear.

Sarah shrugged her shoulders as if to say, 'Karma'.

When the knock on the door finally came, it surprised no one. Emily went to answer the door and greet this mysterious figure, who was now their temporary boss.

The man on the other side of the door was an inch shorter than Emily. He had a black Trilby hat that had seen many miles. He was wearing glasses with rounded frames and looked very average. Nondescript really, a face that could be seen a thousand times and forgotten seconds after you saw it.

He had a black woolen scarf around his neck and a gray herringbone overcoat that went down below his knees. Under his right arm was a small black leather valise.

He took off his hat. "Fraulein Summers, I believe you're expecting me." Emily finally recognized who the older man was.

The gentleman in front of her was none other than Kajetan Baran, the head of the Polish foreign intelligence agency, Agencja Wywiadu.(AW)

Emily took his overcoat and hat from him. "Welcome Herr Baran, and let me welcome you to Bern." Kajetan nodded his thanks and followed her into the kitchen.

The team had already placed a chair at the head of the table for him. They were standing, waiting for their visitor to join them. Emily wasted no time and did the introductions.

Finally everyone sat down.

Kajetan reached into his pocket for his cigarettes and lighter. "Does anyone mind if I smoke?" There was an awkward silence. Chuck cleared his throat. "If you wouldn't mind I'd appreciate it….if you wouldn't."

Kajetan smiled at Chuck and put his cigarettes back in his pocket. "Yes, of course, a habit that is no longer in vogue, pity, but it is my one vice that I allow to continue."

He looked around the table just once and made eye contact with each member of the team. Sarah thought he was comparing what he was seeing with each of their file photos. She'd done several missions in Poland and had worked with the AW, but had never met the legendary 'Kaj', for that was what his nickname was.

He gave them a ghost of a smile. "I believe that each of you has been contacted." Everyone nodded except for Chuck, who was still processing whether the CIA could just automatically recruit him into their ranks. But he was far too curious and intrigued to complain.

"To start with, let us converse in English. Good. Let me first congratulate you all for stumbling onto what was, until recently, a small operation by the AW. I believe all of you have shown a great interest in Janek Milevski, a diplomat currently posted here in Bern.

"It was an accident that one of my people spotted Miss Walker of the CIA the other night when you joined Janek and Malina for drinks and a light repast. You see, we are keeping an eye on Malina."

Sarah almost said 'Damn' out loud but bit it back. Shit! She had been made, but didn't know by whom and when it had happened.

Chuck didn't hesitate. "Why do you have your eye on Malina? And why are you letting a FSB asset even get near her?"

Kajetan inclined his head towards Chuck. "You've asked me two questions. I'm intrigued by your second question. Why on earth would you ever conclude that Janek is an FSB asset?"

Cole slid the photo from 2006 showing Janek getting out of the car driven by Alexandra Maltsev, aka Vladmilla Tretiak, over to Kajetan. He took the photo in his hands and studied it carefully.

He then took off his glasses, pulled out a tissue and cleaned the lenses. When he put his glasses back on, he nodded once. "Excellent work, your bosses spoke highly of your abilities and initiative. I applaud your discovery of our dear, dear nemesis Vladmilla.

"But first let me ask Mr. Barker a question. When you send your diplomats to Russia, what training and education do they receive from MI6? Miss Walker, I'm certain the CIA also carefully coaches all US diplomats in a similar manner."

Cole smiled. "It's an intensive course on how the FSB will try to recruit them. We cover all the seven sins, but we make them especially aware of the 'honey trap'."

Sarah smiled because she now understood what Kajetan was driving at. Emily smiled because she too knew where Kajetan was headed.

Chuck wasn't smiling because he still didn't get why everyone was smiling. "Would somebody like to let me in on what you all seem to know?"

Kajetan looked over at Chuck. "My apologies young man, I was told you're not a field agent. Your colleagues now understand that Janek immediately reported Alexandra Maltsev's approaching him. It was decided that Janek would allow the FSB to believe he'd fallen for their agent's charm.

"Inevitably, Alexandra asked Janek for some low level information.

"The Russians are past masters at this game. They know that we know they are going to try to compromise our diplomats. But they still try because if you don't put your line in the water, you'll never catch a fish.

"They didn't care about the information they were asking Janek to provide. It was a test.

All they wanted to do was plant the hook into Janek's mouth. Later, when it suited the FSB, they'd remind Janek that he'd given them classified information and if he wanted to stay out of prison, he needed to do other favors for them.

"All of this was carefully scripted by me. Janek is very smart and a most convincing actor. Alexandra, as is her custom in these cases, promised Janek much, but delivered very little in the way of romance. After one more request from her for information, which we duly complied with, we pulled Janek out of Moscow.

"The FSB still believes that Janek compromised himself and is ready to be reeled in. The FSB is infernally patient and will someday call on Janek. They will tug on the hook they believe they've firmly planted into the fish."

Chuck wasn't finished. "But why unleash this guy onto Malina? What did she ever do to merit such shitty treatment from the AW?"

Kajetan actually laughed. "Ah Mr. Bartowski, I believe, if I have the phrase correct, that you've put the cart before the horse.

"You see, Janek met Malina at an evening function. Their first meeting was quite innocent and without any intended intrigue.

"All of our diplomats are required to report to the AW if they wish to pursue a relationship with a foreign national. Janek notified us of his intent to pursue the relationship with Malina. He was quite smitten with her you see. We do a background check on the foreign national to make sure they are who they say they are. The background checks confirmed that Malina is a solid, law abiding Swiss citizen."

Emily spoke up. "So, Janek wasn't running a 'honey trap'?"

"Good Lord no, he is not a trained agent. No, his future is to one day be one of our Ambassadors. We have high hopes for Mr. Janek Milevski."

Kajetan stopped talking and asked if he could get a cup of coffee or tea. Emily asked if anyone else wanted tea, coffee or something stronger. Everyone wanted coffee because it looked like this might be a late night.

Kajetan went out into the backyard to have a cigarette.

Ten minutes later, they all sat back down at the table, Kajetan paused and looked out of the kitchen window for several seconds. Finally, after he had gathered his thoughts, he continued.

"Now, before I tell you what your mission will be, I think it is incumbent upon me to tell you why the US, Britain, Switzerland and Poland are going to all this bother. And why we're working together instead of in our usual isolated silos.

"The Russian Bear has woken up and the strongman in the Kremlin, Mr. Putin, has started to break some long established rules amongst the intelligence communities. Mr. Barker, you no doubt were fully briefed on the Litvinenko assassination that took place in London on November 23, 2006?"

Cole didn't look happy. "Yes, not really good form for the FSB to kill someone with Polonium on UK soil."

Kajetan looked at Emily. "Your government is very concerned that too many Russians are starting to abuse your world famous hospitality and, of course, misusing your banks."

He then turned to Sarah. "The US is very concerned with Putin's increasingly aggressive behavior in the Baltic, in the middle east and what might be happening on Poland's eastern borders.

"My country always looks to the East. We live closest to the Bear and are very aware of the FSB's keen interest in the Ukraine. They have been sending in far too many 'agent provocateurs' into that region.

"So, we now have a rare opportunity to hit the Bear on the nose with a stick and to remind Putin that the international community is aware and prepared to take action."

"Yesterday, we received word that Alexandra Maltsev will not be broadcasting her usual newscast. She will be on 'assignment'. The phrase is of course a euphemism. When she disappears Vladmilla is busy on FSB business.

"Vladmilla is on the move and we are hoping that she is coming to Switzerland with a small select extraction team."

Sarah wondered how Kajetan knew that. "How could you possibly know she's headed for Switzerland." For her efforts Sarah received a smile from Kajetan, as if the teacher was pleased with one of his brighter students.

"Perhaps it is because I told Janek to tell Vladmilla that he is aware of a person, an expat from Poland, living in Bern, who has a special document that the FSB and Putin must possess and destroy because of its very damaging contents."

The table exploded with questions. Chuck stood up and started pacing, wondering why he'd been plunged into the middle of geo politics and the seamier side of the spy business.

Cole's question was the one that Kajetan chose to answer first. "Mr. Barker, you've asked the key question, who indeed is this individual that possesses such a dangerous document?"

Sarah now stood up beside Chuck. "It's Jacob, Malina's father. Is that why he left Poland and his family and friends almost thirty years ago?"

Kajetan slowly rose from the table. "I wonder, Fraulein Summers, if I might have something stronger than coffee or tea. Perhaps some whiskey or brandy, before I answer Mr. Barker and Miss. Walker's questions?"

He then looked at Chuck. "I wonder, Mr. Bartowski, if you would join me outside. I would like you to tell me about Malina and her father. I believe you know both of them."

Emily went to a side cabinet and grabbed a bottle of single malt whiskey that Cole had brought with him.

Kajetan and Chuck went outside. As Chuck was going into the backyard, he wondered if he clicked his heels three times would he end up back in Burbank.

Ten minutes later everyone was once again seated at the oak table.

Kajetan took a sip of the whiskey, smiled and nodded towards Cole. "Excellent single malt. Thank you." He sat back in his chair, collecting and lining up all of his thoughts before he would deign to speak.

"I believe Jacob does possess such a document. I'm not exactly sure what the document is, but as they say, 'I have a theory'. And Miss Walker, yes, I believe he fled Poland in such haste because he'd stumbled upon something very important and dangerous to his immediate health."

Chuck took a quick sip of his whiskey. "Why on earth would Jacob even talk to you and also, why would he ever admit that he possessed such a document? Especially if he felt his life and his family's safety might be jeopardized?"

Kajetan kept staring straight ahead like he was remembering something. "Yes, why indeed would Jacob do that? He might talk to someone, if that person was a very old friend. If that person had been the one to advise him to leave Poland and never tell anyone about the document he had in his possession."

When he finished talking, he locked eyes with Chuck and a short silence ensued.

Emily broke the silence. "You, Herr Baran, are that friend. I'm assuming you met at the University of Warsaw and you had little sympathy with the then communist regime?"

Kajetan smiled. "My, my, it is so refreshing to be surrounded by such young, able and quick witted minds."

"Tomorrow Mr. Bartowksi, Miss Walker and I will visit my old friend Jacob, from my university days, and we will see what he has in his possession."

Kajetan had a kink in his neck and he moved his head back and forth a little along with his shoulders to relieve it. "I'm a little surprised that no one has asked me a critical question. Perhaps you're just being kind to an old man and being very polite and patient."

Emily touched the bruise on her forearm. "Herr Baran, what is our mission, what are our objectives with this joint operation?"

Chuck now felt the tension around the table rapidly increase. He saw Cole, Sarah and Emily lean forward just a fraction, waiting for the old man's instructions.

"Your bosses and mine have established three goals. One- Capture Vladmilla and her extraction team, alive if at all possible. Slightly wounded but breathing is acceptable. Two- Acquire the document from Jacob, and if it is what I suspect, Switzerland, Britain and the US will simultaneously release its contents to the world's press. Three – to exchange Vladmilla and her team for two agents, one MI6 and one CIA, currently being held in the Lubyanka by the FSB."

Kajetan stood up and handed a piece of paper to Sarah. "Miss Walker, you and Mr. Bartowski will please pick me up at 9am at that address. I'm told your tradecraft is excellent so we should be able to quietly slip out of Bern, unobserved, to visit my old friend Jacob."

An FIS car was waiting outside for the old man and once he got in it quickly disappeared down the road.

Everyone sat back down at the table. Each one lost in their thoughts and wondering how what was once a very straight forward mission had metamorphosed into one of the most important missions of their careers. Cole, Emily and Sarah also knew that each of them were now in the centre of a very large spotlight. Succeed and their future was assured, fail and they would be stuck in dead end jobs, laboring away at meaningless tasks until they retired.

Chuck wasn't worried about his career. He was very worried about Malina and Jacob. He didn't want them to become just some collateral damage that would be swept aside if the other mission objectives were achieved.

For nearly two years, he himself had been a pawn in a much bigger game. He vowed he'd do everything in his power to make sure Malina and Jacob would come out of this alive and healthy.

 _ **A/N** – I like to keep the chapters to about 5,000 words. So depending on your perspective, the good news, or the bad news is that there will be two more chapters and an epilogue. _


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N** \- Thank you for your reviews and PMs. I welcome your comments and thoughts

Sincere thanks to michaelfmx for his considerable editing skills and valued input into the story.

The Chuck fandom is wise. Several of you in reviews and PMs, including my illustrious editor michaelfmx, have advised me I'm going to need several more chapters to properly bring this story to a conclusion. So be it.

 _"_ _Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill."_

 _-Barbara Tuchman_

 **Chapter 9**

 **November 24, 2010- 10:00pm-** **FIS Safe House - 18 Selibuhlweg, Bern**

Emily sat back down at the table. She was still reeling from meeting Kajetan and now being point on the most important mission of her career. A make or break moment for Sarah, Cole and her. "So team, how do we plan for this mission? What should we do next? There's so much critical information we don't know?"

Cole stood up and stretched his neck as he walked slowly around the room. Chuck then got up and walked to the French doors, looking out into the backyard, lost in his own thoughts and worries about Malina and Jacob.

Sarah exchanged a look with Emily. "Emily, I think you and Cole should follow us to the meeting tomorrow, wherever that might be. We both know that the FSB has a number of operatives already in Switzerland, and I, for one, don't want them to snatch the head of Polish Intelligence. At least not on my watch."

Cole nodded his agreement. "Emily, might I suggest you requisition two cars that have some 'special' features for our journey tomorrow. I agree with Sarah, from now on we have to anticipate that the FSB may be more aggressive than usual."

Chuck turned his head from looking out into the garden. He looked over at them. "Drone."

Emily leaned forward and repeated the word. "Drone?"

Chuck walked over to the table and sat down. He remembered some information he'd once seen in the Intersect. He grabbed some paper and a pencil and sat down, then wrote down an equation **d** **2** **= h** **2** **\+ 2Rh.** He pulled out his iPhone and did a quick calculation. Once he finished, he sat back in his chair.

The three of them were leaning over his shoulder to see what the hell he was doing. "Emily, I believe Switzerland uses the RUAG Ranger drone. As long as the cloud cover isn't too low, the FIS could put a drone up at say 3,200 feet,or 1km. We could see almost 67 miles or 111km in any direction.

"That would mean that you and Cole can hang back a lot further in the pursuit car and Sarah and I could see the road ahead."

Emily's eyebrows rose slightly as she looked at the piece of paper Chuck was now doodling on. She looked at Sarah and they both exchanged a small knowing smile.

She started to get an inkling as to why Sarah Walker was attracted to Charles. He was a most unusual but a very interesting man. "Alright, I'll make some arrangements. Sarah,you and Chuck take my Audi for tonight so you can get back to Charles' flat.

"I'll see both of you here tomorrow at 8:00am."

 **November 24, 2010- 10:30pm-** **Driving back to Chuck's flat**

Sarah was driving around in a very circuitous route to get back to Chuck's flat. The main reason for her meanderings was to make sure they weren't being followed. She carried out her counter surveillance twists and turns by rote.

But the other reason she was taking her time getting back to the flat was because she felt they needed to talk about what had happened tonight.

Chuck was far too quiet, which was never a good sign.

In Burbank, when he'd been her asset, she gently pushed him to open up. His state of mind was critical to the Intersect mission and an essential part of her job was to keep Chuck on an even keel, to get him talking about his thoughts, his concerns and his feelings.

But Chuck wasn't her asset any longer. He'd made that patently clear…they would never repeat that relationship. He was her boyfriend now and so she hesitated to interrupt his silence.

She didn't want to act like a handler. But how would a real girlfriend act? This was a new dilemma for her…..and a very frustrating one at that.

However, time was short and they did have to talk about some of their issues. She reached out and touched his knee.

"Chuck, I owe you a big apology. I'm an insensitive bitch and get over focused on my job.

"I told you I'd be the worst girlfriend in the world and guess what, I messed up….big time." Chuck turned his head and gave her a questioning gaze.

Sarah's tone was laced with regret. "I should've talked with you last night about the dinner and what I was doing …. you know …. the level one flirting and …. the honey trap."

Chuck shifted in his seat and leaned towards her. "Sarah, I hated watching you play the temptress and the eye candy back in Burbank.

"Now, that you're my real girlfriend it just depresses the hell out of me. But it also makes me angry ..

Sarah jerked her head slightly when Chuck said he was angry. Was he really that angry at her for doing her job?

Chuck saw Sarah's reaction. "I mean I was angry on your behalf."

Sarah had eased back on the gas pedal and the Audi was now barely crawling along the street. Chuck ran his fingers through his hair and collected his thoughts.

"Don't misunderstand me. I see how effortlessly you turn the seduction and flirting on and off ... I mean, just like it's a light switch. I've always told myself that you don't invest your real feelings in it .…but …."

Sarah had pulled the Audi over and parked. Sarah was now concerned that last night was the straw that broke the camel's back. Was Chuck now going to tell her that their relationship wasn't going to survive in the long run, if she kept doing the seduction part of her job?

"But what Chuck?"

"Sarah, I think being able to switch your emotions on and off ... I mean …. it can't be a good thing …. you know for you …. it has to eat away at a person in the long run."

Chuck paused and then exhaled a big breath.

"Hey, maybe I'm wrong, it doesn't seem to bother Carina …. but Sarah, you're not her."

Sarah desperately wanted to switch the topic, or to be somewhere else. But she had committed to fight for them as a couple, and that meant hanging in on this whole seduction conversation.

"Chuck, you don't know Carina, not really. In fact, there are maybe two or three people in the whole world who know what she's gone through. In order to cope, Carina, over the years, has developed a very hard exterior in order to continue to be the best undercover operative the DEA has. You might say that Carina, after all this time, doesn't really know who she really is.

"The persona she projects to you, to Casey and the world is what she wants you to see.

What does your science background tell you about materials that become too hard?"

Chuck thought for a moment. "They can become brittle and eventually shatter."

Sarah was now speaking softly. "Exactly, Carina will have to make a choice in the next couple of years. She'll have to give up working undercover or she'll make a mistake and be killed, or her ego will simply shatter one day in the middle of a mission. I worry about her, a lot."

Sarah signaled to Chuck to get out of the car. "Let's take a walk over in the park."

There was a gazebo in a well lit area at the center of the small park that overlooked the Aare River.

They sat down. "Chuck, do you remember the name of the course Roan Montgomery taught at the Farm?"

Chuck smiled, yes of course he remembered meeting Roan Montgomery, and the name of the course. He also fondly remembered one of the best kisses of his entire life when Roan had been egging him on in front of Sarah about whether or not he'd ever actually had intercourse.

He'd kissed Sarah with every ounce of passion he possessed and treated that kiss with Sarah like a special gift.

He carefully wrapped the memory of that kiss and filed it away.

In the past, on special occasions, he would unwrap the memory of that kiss, it warmed him and calmed him. He cleared his throat. "Yes, the course was called Infiltration and Inducement of Enemy Personnel, I believe Casey flunked it twice."

Sarah got Chuck's attention. "My final test in order to pass the course was a special assignment that Roan had set up. He was certain I would fail. But I surprised him and I surprised Graham, because I succeeded."

Chuck was staring intensely at Sarah and she took a quick breath.

"Chuck, I was a natural at seducing people. Before I ever met Langston Graham, I'd trained for years with my father.

"I'd lied, cheated, picked pockets and conned hundreds of people for almost six solid years with my misguided dad.

"He taught me to believe that when I lied and people trusted me, they were patsies. When I stole from people, I should feel victorious. He taught me to believe that the marks and patsies were suckers to allow us to play them.

"When I conned a person and they actually fell for the con, it was because they were greedy. They deserved to lose their money, and my father and I deserved to have it."

Chuck looked up at Sarah. "I get it. Your father taught you to have no real empathy for any of those people."

Sarah was having trouble looking at Chuck. "At the end of the day, it was only tiny steps from what I was already doing with my conman father to what the CIA was now asking me to do regarding seduction."

Chuck knew that he shouldn't ask his question but fools venture in … "Sarah, when you came to Burbank and became my handler was part of your job to seduce me?"

Sarah looked down at her hands that were folded in her lap. "Chuck, my job required me to get close to you and your family and friends. I wouldn't call it seduction."

Chuck leaned forward. "What would you call it then?"

"Infiltration would be a more apt word. In order for me to protect you I needed to be accepted by you and especially by Ellie. The way I spoke, the way I dressed and the way I behaved was done so I could stay close to both of you."

Chuck shook his head as if to gain some clarity. "Sarah, I'm trying not to get angry with what I'm hearing because it sounds like what happened in Burbank was all an act. I know it wasn't .. I mean it wasn't all fake .. was it?"

Sarah gently put her hand on the side of his face. "Chuck, within a couple of weeks I was letting you and Ellie see more of the real me than I should've. Your sister is this elemental force of nature. She unreservedly welcomed me into your family. You can't imagine the feelings that started to surface inside of me, feelings that I had to wrestle with, feelings that confused the hell out of me."

Chuck looked out over the river valley. Moonlight was reflecting of the river. "So, that means that having sex with me back in Burbank would've compromised you."

Sarah shook her head. "Casey, and General Beckman wouldn't have batted an eye if I had sex with you every day of the week and twice on Sunday, as long as I wasn't emotionally compromised."

Chuck was slowly starting to understand why they'd never actually slept together back in Burbank. He smiled to himself .. well they came damn close in Barstow.

Sarah continued. "I was fighting against being compromised by me feelings for you within the first month. My God, can you imagine what would've happened if I'd actually added frequent sex to the mix.

"It would've been a disaster for both of us. You'd have ended up in a bunker or Agent Forrest as your handler." A shudder passed through Chuck's body at the very thought of both of those outcomes.

Sarah stared into the darkness that had enveloped the cedar trees. "Once the CIA had done some tweaks to my nose and chin …" Sarah touched her nose and chin with her finger where plastic surgery had been performed. "They taught me about the psychology behind seduction.

"They covered everything from clothes to perfume, about body language. How the eye is drawn to a simple gesture. How the merest movement of my eyebrow at the right moment could be an invitation..

Sarah's voice had slowly become not much more than a whisper as she told her story, so Chuck had to lean towards her to hear.

"Chuck, the way it usually works is to promise much and, if all goes well, to deliver very little in the romance department. And the most important thing for an agent is to learn how to disassociate from your actions and always remember the mission objectives."

Sarah tentatively moved her hand towards Chuck's, but stopped inches away. Chuck looked down at her hand and then up at Sarah. He gave her a smile and interlaced his fingers with hers.

"You know Chuck, when I was with Bryce we both used our seduction skills. I never felt one moment of jealousy, and I'm absolutely sure it never bothered him when he saw me with other men.

"You're not Bryce and I felt your dislike and jealousy intensely when I was in seduction mode. It was in Burbank, and with you as my fake boyfriend, that for the first time I felt uneasy using all the seduction skills that Roan and the CIA had taught me.

"Chuck, last night was the first time in my life that I hated using those skills. I like Malina, I really do, and it felt wrong to be flirting with Janek. I sincerely hope she didn't notice what I was doing.

"I didn't want to hurt her. Also, I like Janek, in some way's he's like you … a good and, I think, a decent man.

"What really upset me about last night was that I wanted to be with you, not flirting with Janek. I wanted to catch your eye, to lightly brush my hand across your arm and see you smile at me, to feel that little jolt of electricity that passes between us."

Sarah was having trouble making eye contact with Chuck and she was wringing her hands in her lap. She felt like she'd let Chuck down last night because of her actions.

She loved him too much to see him in pain or unhappy, especially if she was the cause.

"I'm changing Chuck, it may seem glacial, but it's happening. Please be patient with me."

Chuck bent forward and gave her a delicate kiss on the lips. "Sarah, I'll hang in there with you. And, yes … I know you're changing. Do you think we can head back to my … I mean our, flat.

"There's a special memory I'd like to share with you from our Burbank days when we met Roan.

"I want to share that memory with you, but we need to be back .. uh." Chuck hesitated and didn't complete the sentence.

Sarah stood up and gave Chuck a tug on his arm to get him standing. " ..I think you wanted to say…. we need to be back in our bed." Sarah smiled as she said this.

Sarah took a deep breath, suddenly becoming aware of an odor. "Chuck, I'm still in my sparring clothes and I'm not sure how you can even bear to sit beside me. I must smell like a football locker room. I need to shower and clean up."

As they were walking back to the car, Sarah sidled up close to him and tucked her arm under his. "Chuck, my little work out with Emily has left me a little stiff and sore. I'm going to need your help in the shower. And just so it's crystal clear to you, I'm absolutely flirting with you."

A big smile spread over Chuck's face. "Got it, flirting and aye, ready aye with assisting you in the shower. How about after the shower I throw in a special Bartowski massage."

A smile appeared on Sarah's face and the thought crossed her mind that if they restrained themselves, they might just be able to get three or four hours of sleep tonight.

 **November 25, 2010- 9:05am-** **On the Road to Trub, Switzerland**

Sarah had picked up Kajetan at the address he'd given her. It was another FIS safe house located in Stettlen, a small town 10km northeast of Bern.

He was now sitting in the passenger seat while Chuck sat in the back. Chuck was leaning forward to hear every bit of the conversation between Kajetan and Sarah.

Emily had informed Kajetan about their security arrangements for the journey. She and Cole would be about a kilometer back in case of any trouble. The drone was now flying directly above Sarah's car.

One camera was focused on the road ahead, while the other camera could be directed by Cole to do a 360 sweep around the route they were travelling.

Kajetan had told Sarah to head to Trub and would give them final directions when they got there. It would take them about forty-five minutes to reach their destination.

They quickly passed through Trub and took a single track road to a small chalet that was located in a valley. The chalet had been an inheritance left to Jacob's wife Anita by her mother.

Kajetan turned towards Chuck. "Mr. Bartowski, are you a student of modern history?"

Chuck smiled and, with some degree of pride, answered, "Sir, I'm a nerd, which means I know way too much about many, many things, some of them amazingly obscure. What decade are we talking about?"

Kajetan smiled to himself. "Well then, I think that you will find our visit to Jacob to be most illuminating. Perhaps someday you might even be able to tell your grandchildren about what you will see and hear today."

 **10:00am - Chalet of Jacob and Anita Risch**. **Trub, Switzerland**

When the car pulled up into the driveway, Kajetan asked Chuck to accompany him. He explained that Jacob needed to see a familiar face when he answered the door.

He asked Sarah to please wait in the car until Emily and Cole arrived, and then all of them could come into the chalet together.

Kajetan and Chuck waited for their knock on the door to be answered. Chuck thought that Kajetan looked nervous and smiled to himself. He wondered what it would be like to meet an old friend after almost thirty years had passed.

Jacob opened the door and smiled when he saw Chuck's face. At first Jacob didn't recognize Kajetan and he squinted his eyes and angled his head to get a better look at the stranger standing before him.

Chuck saw the sudden transformation in Jacob's face when he realized who was standing right in front of him. The two old men fell into each other's arms and hugged each other. Chuck could hear them whispering to each other in Polish.

Kajetan kissed the neck of his old friend and switched to English. "It has been too long Jacob, but your safety dictated that I not reach out to you. Forgive me, but I'm afraid that the situation has changed; Poland needs your help my old friend."

Jacob ushered them down a hallway and into a spacious room.

The smell of well worn leather and cedar pervaded the air. The sun had come out and shafts of light danced on the hardwood oak floor, with specks of dust suspended in the beams of sunlight.

This was Jacob's library and study. It was lined with shelves reaching almost to the ceiling. The shelves were full of books and Chuck suspected that Jacob or Anita had read each one of them.

There was a large table set near near a set of French doors. And at the other end of the room was Jacob's desk.

Jacob called out to his wife. When she came into the room she saw Chuck and immediately walked up to him and gave him a hug. She was a tall willowy woman with a patrician air about her.

Jacob, with moist eyes and deep emotion in his voice, introduced Anita to his old friend Kajetan. He explained to her who he was and how he'd helped him to leave Poland.

Anita's eyes grew wide, placing a hand on Jacob's chest as he finally told her his story, including Kajetan's vital role in his escape.

When Jacob had finished telling his story, Anita walked over and kissed Kajetan on both cheeks, then gave him a grateful embrace. "Thank you for sending my Jacob safely to Switzerland."

At that moment there was a knock on the door. Kajetan asked Chuck to answer it and to bring Emily, Sarah and Cole into the library.

While Chuck was going to the front door, Kajetan switched to Polish and invited Jacob out through the French doors and into the garden to talk privately.

Sarah, Cole, Emily and Chuck came into the study. Chuck introduced everyone to Anita.

Through the French doors they could see Kajetan and Jacob talking excitedly as they paced intensely around the garden.

Chuck dearly wished that he could've been part of Jacob and Kajetan's private discussion. He surveyed the garden and saw a seven foot red brick wall that ran along three sides of the garden. The tree branches were now bereft of leaves and they swayed gently in a light breeze coming from the southwest.

Over an hour had passed since the older men had gone outside to have their private conversation. Chuck and the team had waited patiently in Jacob's study for them to finish their talk.

From time to time, they would look out and see Jacob and Kajetan walking, then stopping and then walking again back and forth in the garden.

Anita had been the perfect Swiss hostess and made tea and coffee with some small biscuits for the team. Once she was satisfied that everyone had been taking care of she quietly closed the door and left them alone.

Sarah peeked out into the garden. "Emily, if we're going to make a play to grab Vladmilla Tretiak and the FSB extraction team, where do you want to do it.?"

Emily brought out her laptop that connected her with the drone. "Cole, Sarah, come and look at the topography around here." They all crowded around Emily as she panned the camera down at the Chalet and then to the surrounding territory.

Emily turned her head towards Cole. "My bosses don't want a gunfight in Bern. They want minimal collateral damage on this mission. I don't know about you, but I think here, Jacob and Anita's chalet would be a perfect place to lure Vladmilla and her extraction team to."

Chuck stood up, channeling Casey as he grunted. "I'm assuming that you guys don't underestimate your opponents. I'm not an agent, but even I wouldn't go out to this place and not think it might be a trap?"

Cole stood up beside Chuck and put his big hand on his shoulder. "Yes, but the way around that is to properly bait the trap and let the FSB see exactly what they want to see before they make their move."

Chuck's tone was laced with anger. "If your idea of baiting the trap is to put Jacob, Anita and Malina at risk, then I think that is a shitty plan."

Sarah looked at her boyfriend who was also now her teammate. Chuck would never think like a trained agent.

He just wasn't wired that way, and that thought warmed her. "Chuck, Emily and Cole are correct. Vladmilla, whether it's here or in Bern, is going to have to see Janek, Jacob and Malina together. If she doesn't see them, then she won't make a move."

Chuck started pacing. "Okay, then let's come up with a plan that will let Vladmilla see the bait. But I don't want the shark to eat the bait. By the way, if Jacob and his family are the bait then I'm going to be with Malina every step of the way."

Sarah almost cut Chuck off, her instinct was to tell him, ' _There's was no way that's going to happen'._ But she bit back the words because Chuck would simply reply, _'_ _What made makes my life so much more special than Jacob or Malina's?'._

Chuck didn't have a plan at that moment and knew that if there was going to be any gun play, it would be better for it to happen in an isolated chalet than in Bern. He put together two words that were swimming around in his mind, _bait_ and _switch._

Chuck walked over to Sarah. "Sarah, what's the essence of a really good con? Could we somehow …. I mean …. perhaps con the FSB into believing something that isn't quite true. I mean, so that we can keep Jacob, Anita, Malina and Janek safe."

Sarah closed her eyes, put her elbows on the table and leaned her head forward into palms of her hands. In her mind she was going through a small encyclopedia of cons that she and her father had perpetrated on the greedy, the ambitious and the innocent.

Cole spoke up. "If I was Vladmilla, I would have my people watching this property two days before I made a move. He looked at the image on Emily's laptop. I'd put a sniper here and another one over there to cover the access road and give an over watch."

Emily took a deep breath "Yes, and if I was her I would put a small drone overhead to warn me of any suspicious cars or movement. Oh, one more thing. This is the FSB, just before they make their move, they'll jam the shit out of all electronic communications to and from this area."

Sarah slowly raised her head and had a knowing smile on her face. "I'm assuming this house has a cellar. Good!

"Chuck, we're going to need to have you, Janek and Malina drive out to the chalet together. I'm sorry to say this but you have to be part of the bait. But what we're going to do before the FSB come barreling in here is…" Sarah blue eyes twinkled as she locked them onto Chuck's. "My idea just might work."

Sarah outlined her idea in detail to the team. They continued to try and guess what the FSB would do but were interrupted when the French doors opened and Jacob and Kajetan came back in. Jacob was holding a stainless steel cylinder that was about twelve inches in length, or thirty-one centimeters.

 **The Document**

Jacob was at the head of the table. Seated to his left were Sarah, Cole and Emily, and on his right were Kajetan and Chuck.

Kajetan waited for a quiet moment. "Mr. Bartowski, do you know what they celebrated last year in Moscow?" Chuck closed his eyes and tried to recall any information that would be relevant from when he still had the Intersect in his head.

"I'm not sure, wasn't it somebody's anniversary, I can see a name if I close my eyes, is it Soselo?" Chuck looked across at the team for some help.

Cole smiled. "Good man Chuck, that was one of his nicknames. The world knew him as Joseph Stalin. I remember now it was his 130th anniversary last year."

Jacob gave a snort of disgust at the mention of the dictator's name.

Kajetan smiled. "Yes, Joseph Stalin had a brief celebration carried out in his honor in Moscow.

"Putin and his oligarchy are slowly and very carefully trying to rehabilitate Stalin. Their wish is to create an image of Stalin as a wise and strong leader. It is a partial attempt to undo what Khrushchev did in the 1950's when he finally exposed to the people of Russian and the world the monstrous things Stalin had done while he had been in power."

Kajetan touched the stainless steel cylinder that Jacob had handed him. "Jacob, this is your story, please tell us about what's inside this."

Jacob lowered his head to collect his thoughts. Then he reached over for the cylinder. "In 1982, I had my life planned out. I'd just found out that my dissertation had been accepted. I was assured that a lecturer's post would open up at the University and it would be mine.

"In August of that year, I was ordered to go on a trip with a representative from the Russian embassy. We were to go to a woman's house who had recently died. We were to go through all the records of her father, a man called Leopold Oculowski.

"You'll not know this, but Leopold was one of the leaders of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. That's why the Polish communist government and the Russian's were interested in this man's documents."

Chuck leaned forward. "He must have been in his nineties in 1982."

Jacob shook his head. "Leopold died in 1946. He had been invited by the Russians to Pruszkow with fifteen other men, all former leaders of the Home Army.

"Leopold and the others arrived and were promptly arrested by the NKVD. He was executed a year later in a century old Moscow prison built by the Tsar.

"Leopold had wisely passed his letters and documents onto his daughter before he left for the meeting. She never saw her father again."

Jacob looked right at Sarah. "You're too young to know this, but in August of 1944 the Red Army was rapidly advancing on Warsaw. They were on the banks of the Vistula River. The Polish resistance had organized themselves into a Home Army.

"The commander Borkomorowski and Leopold ordered the uprising to commence in Warsaw. The goal was to capture the city from the Germans. Once the revolt started in the city, the Red Army would advance across the Vistula thereby guaranteeing success.

"For almost eight weeks, the Home Army fought a pitched battle with the German Army. But in the end they fought alone and with limited help from the Allies and almost no help from the Red Army.

"Stalin had ordered the Red Army to wait and watch."

Kajetan reached over and placed his hand on Jacob's forearm to steady him. "Historians in the east and the west have long debated why the Red Army didn't do more when they were so close. This debate has gone on for decades."

Chuck asked the obvious question that was hanging over the table. "Why did Stalin instruct the Red Army stand down?"

Kajetan answered, "Historians have different opinions. It is my belief that Stalin let the Germans systematically kill what would have been the leaders of Poland once the war was over. He would then have free reign to put his own people in place. Simple, brutally simple; When the smoke cleared from the battle, 150,000 citizens of Warsaw and 16,000 members of the Home Army lay dead."

Jacob took a sip of his tea. "The man from the Russian embassy watched me like a hawk as we went through the daughter's desk. Each document was carefully reviewed and photographed before it was handed to me. In several cases, he took the documents with him, I never got to see what they contained. The Russian's have a prodigious memory and they had been keeping an eye on Leopold's daughter all these years.

"Eventually, the man from the Russian embassy was happy that he'd seen everything there was to see. He left me alone with the materials he had no interest in.

"The roll top desk was now completely empty. I sat in the captain's chair and aimlessly opened and closed the roll top and slid the drawers back and forth. I was wondering if there was some way I could buy the desk from the executor of the estate. It was a lovely desk, over a hundred years old and made of oak.

"I accidentally slid one of the drawers right out. As I was putting the drawer back I saw a small envelope taped to the very back of the desk. When I opened it and saw what was inside, I was terrified.

"And that's when I knew that I had to leave Poland. I had to leave at my first opportunity and take the contents in the envelope with me. I also knew that I had to keep the letters hidden, hoping that one day it might be safe to reveal the contents to the world."

Kajetan then slowly unscrewed the finely machined lid off of the Swiss made cylinder. Two single pages slid silently out onto to the highly polished walnut table.

"Mr. Barker, Miss Walker, Fraulein Summers, you read Russian. Please, be my guests."

Kajetan stood beside them as they quickly read the two letters. Jacob sat at the head of the table, silently lost in his memories from almost thirty years ago.

Kajetan turned to Chuck. "Mr. Bartowski, you don't read Russian but do you see the red hammer and sickle, with the laurel wreath around it. It's in the upper left hand corner with CCCP underneath." Chuck nodded.

"These are two letters from the desk of Joseph Stalin. The first letter is his personal guarantee that the Red Army would cross the Vistula River and support the Polish Home Army when they started their uprising in Warsaw. It is dated June, 1944.

"The second letter is dated February 1945 and is addressed to Leopold. Stalin personally promises Leopold complete safety, when he and his fifteen comrades go to Pruszkow for the meeting. This type of letter is called a warrant. It is considered a legal and binding document, especially when it is issued by a head of state.

"Stalin states in the letter that the sixteen men need to come to Pruszkow. The purpose of the meeting is to reach an understanding on how Poland would be governed going forward into the future."

Kajetan's eyes turned dark and he looked at his old friend Jacob. "Soon after they reached Pruszkow, the sixteen men were arrested by the NKVD, put in front of a show trial and convicted. Many died within a year, the others were sent to the Gulags."

For several moments you could hear a pin drop. Everyone was processing the information and trying to understand the implications of revealing the contents of the two letters to the world.

Chuck cleared his throat. "I'm not sure about the impact of releasing these letters. Why wouldn't Putin just say these documents are forgeries and part of a conspiracy engineered to reflect badly on Russia? I mean, nowadays news gets old after twenty-four hours, right?"

Cole, who had a history degree from St. Andrew's University, smiled. "Perhaps in the old days he might have been able to get away with that.

"We now have modern forensics and the UK and the US can compare the ink, type of paper, the watermarks, the type of font used and the signature with original documents from Stalin both the UK and the US have in our national archives."

Kajetan then took up the conversation. "The scientists in all four of our countries will, I'm sure, prove conclusively that these two letters are authentic.

"That's what they will jointly tell the World's press. The political fallout will be a major embarrassment for Putin. And it will end his attempt to rehabilitate Joseph Stalin."

Kajetan looked at Emily. "Once Janek passes even the merest hint of what Jacob might have here onto to Vladmilla Tretiak …. she will come. She will have no choice, her masters will order her to take almost any risk to seize these documents.

"Now, Emily, tell me your team's plans to capture Vladmilla and her extraction team and remember, we want them breathing."

 _A/N – For the history buffs. The Warsaw rising in 1944 occurred in August, the Red Army were indeed ordered by Stalin to stand in place. Leopold is real and based on a man called Leopold Okulicki. The trial of the sixteen did take place. At the time there was almost no protest from the Western powers._


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N** \- Thank you for your reviews and PMs.

This chapter took a little longer than planned. I thank you for your patience and putting up with my historical sub plots.

Sincere thanks to michaelfmx for the time and effort he puts forward in editing this story.

RAT- remote access Trojan, a malware program.

 _"_ _Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for."_

 _-Epicurus_

 **Chapter 10**

 _Hi, my name is Chuck and here are some things you may not know._

 _It's been three days since Emily, Cole, Sarah, Kajetan and I saw the letters from Joseph Stalin, while we were sitting in Jacob's library and study._

 _Yesterday at noon, Kajetan instructed Janek to send a partial photo of one of Stalin's letters to Alexandra Maltsev, aka Captain Vladmilla Tretiak. The old fox said this would wet the FSB's appetite._

 _Well, as you can imagine the FSB's reaction was pretty much instantaneous. Just what Kajetan had been hoping for._

 _Janek was immediately asked by Vladmilla to identify the person who had the letter, where they lived and any other useful information he might have._

 _Much to my regret, and my vehement disagreement, Janek also had to reveal Malina's name and that she was Jacob's daughter. Oh, and another piece of information Janek was asked to share was that Malina worked at Valyrian._

 _Can you believe it?! Whiskey Tango Foxtrot or what?_

 _I haven't seen Sarah, Emily or Cole since they dropped me off back at my flat in Bern, three long days ago. I'm not exactly sure where they are, I think they've gone totally dark._

 _Why do I think that? Well, because Sarah hasn't reached out to me, not even a text. I know from past experience what she's like when she's in full blown mission mode. All three of them are in the center of a very big spotlight. It's a make or break moment for the three of them, career wise._

 _When I was dropped off at my flat, Sarah came upstairs with me in order to grab her carryon suitcase. She hardly said a word to me, she was focused and consumed with the responsibility that was now on her shoulders._

 _The team now needed to capture an elite FSB extraction team and keep the bloodshed to a minimum. Many lives were at stake. And it was Sarah's plan they were going to use in order to accomplish that seemingly impossible task._

 _It didn't take this blonde, beautiful and deadly CIA agent very long to pack because she still lived out of her suitcase. The space in the closet I'd cleared out for her still sat empty.._

 _Earlier, I was going to say my blonde girlfriend but sadly, somewhere on the journey back from Trub to Bern, I think I lost my girlfriend. She was nowhere to be seen, instead I was in the presence of someone I met two years ago._

 _The CIA's best agent._

 _There was a brief moment, however, when Sarah my girlfriend emerged. In that moment she did manage to notice me, and she gave me a quick hug and a peck on the cheek before she rushed out of the apartment._

 _As soon as I found out that Janek was going to release Malina's name and that she worked at Valyrian, I packed an overnight bag and rushed over to my office. I called Reudi on the way and told him that we had very little time to prepare for a cyber visit from the Russians. He joined me in the office an hour later._

 _We've both been at the office for the last two nights with little to no sleep._

 _Reudi and our team have been preparing for the storm that's coming our way. Oh yeah, did I mention that I called Kajetan for his assistance?_

 _There's an individual that Reudi and I wanted to assist us in preparing for the inevitable cyber attack. He's an elite hacker known to us as 'Nightshade'. He and the Piranha have traded one or two pieces of code over the last four years._

 _The only thing Reudi and I know about him are the online rumors that he's British._

 _Kajetan called his old friend Sir Franics de Guingand, also know as_ _ **'C',**_ _the head of the SIS._

 _We quickly found out that Nightshade was indeed British. We subsequently learned that his real name is Nigel Waddell, and guess what? Yep, you guessed it, he was one of the SIS's cyber warfare team._

 _Apparently, he was caught hacking the wrong site at the wrong time and was given a choice; work for the SIS or spend five years in a place where you never bend down in the shower to pick up the soap._

 _Kajetan and Sir Francis must go way back in the spy game because MI6 flew Nigel over on a private jet along with his own bodyguard. Nigel and this guy with a very thick neck, and a total lack of humor, are now living here at Valyrian._

 _Nigel is twenty-two years old, but looks like he's eighteen. He probably shaved at most twice a week. But, I'm very happy to report to you that Nigel is a nerd of the very first order._

 _The three of us hit it off almost immediately and we are now getting ready. There isn't much time left. A dark storm is coming from the east and I'm not sure whether our plan will work._

 **November 30** **th** **, 2010 – 3:30 am Bern,Switzerland- Offices of Valyrian (GmbH) **

Chuck, Reudi and Nigel were in the board room drinking red bulls and putting in place the final touches to what Nigel was calling the 'Kursk defense'. It was a layered defense strategy with a nasty surprise when you got through the outer rings.

We were now certain that the Russians were coming.

Several small probing cyber attacks had already hit Valyrian's fire wall over the last six hours. They had been easily defeated, too easily.

At exactly 3:30am, the Russians unleashed a massive cyber attack with thousands of 'bots' leading the charge. Alarms that sounded like klaxons in their tired ears began clanking on all three of their laptops.

Everything was now happening at speeds that no human being could possibly comprehend. The attacks, the feints and the defenses, the moves and countermoves were all preprogrammed.

As expected, Valyrian's first firewall was defeated in two minutes, a lifetime in the computer world.

Nigel looked at Reudi and Chuck. "Well, we did very well to last two full minutes on our outer perimeter, much better than I'd hoped." Chuck took a sip of his red bull and looked at his computer dashboard. "Reudi, they're already five percent through the second firewall."

Reudi called up a program and pressed enter. Valyrian's system launched a vicious counter attack at the unseen electronic enemy. Nigel had explained to Chuck and Reudi that their counter attack was doomed to fail. But it would slow the Russians down.

Twenty minutes later Chuck looked up. "Guys, they're going to defeat the second firewall in less than five minutes.

Reudi ran across the hall and disconnected a very thick fiber optic cable from an array of servers.

Nigel didn't look worried at all. In fact he was smiling, because once the attackers got through the second firewall they would be able to grab all of the encrypted files sitting in a huge database. The huge database seemingly was the prize the Russians were after.

Reudi ran back into the room and put his hand on Chuck's shoulder and, with relief in his voice, said. "Okay, all of our real data is safely on the mirrored system and disconnected from the outside world."

The data that the Russians were going to grab was encrypted with commercial software. It would take the FSB four or five days to crack the encryption with their state of the art computer systems; Systems and people that only a nation state could possibly bring to bear.

However, once they cracked the encryption and accessed the files they would not like what they found inside.

The files contained a toxic mixture of malware, RATs and a little surprise that Nigel had prepared. He fully expected the Russians to minimize the damage caused by the malware and RATs in the file, but Nigel was hoping that while they were busy cleaning up the toxic code, they'd miss his little surprise. A cyber 'Trojan Horse'.

Nigel couldn't share this information with Reudi and Chuck because it was strictly need to know.

Nigel's surprise was a tiny piece of seemingly benign code that would go to all IP addresses that the Russians were using to decrypt Valyrian's database. At a precise time the software would execute and send out a single 'ping', then it would delete itself.

At the precise moment the software sent out a 'ping', GCHQ and the NSA would be waiting and watching from their satellites. When that 'ping' occurred, they would record the exact locations of Russia's most important cyber sites. It would be a small but important victory in a war that would continue.

The Russians cracked Valyrian's last firewall four minutes later.

Nigel looked across the table and smiled. "Well done gentlemen, that was hand to hand cyber combat, and Valyrian acquitted themselves very well indeed. I'm most impressed with what both of you accomplished here tonight."

Reudi thanked Nigel and then asked a question he didn't expect an answer to. "Nigel, are you going to tell us about your little surprise?" Nigel smiled and shook his head. "Sadly chaps, I'm not at liberty, but MI6 owes Valyrian several favors.

"Don't hesitate to ask 'C' for the favors when the time is right. Well, my work here is done. My masters were very clear that I shouldn't tarry. They want me back in London post haste."

After Nigel left with his bodyguard, Reudi looked up at Chuck with very tired eyes. "At 6am we'll shut down the system that was hacked and we'll shut down our website."

Given that he'd only slept four hours in the last two days, Chuck was exhausted.

"Reudi, we have to pretend like we've been hacked for real over the next two days. By then hopefully Emily, Cole and Sarah will have had time to complete their mission."

Chuck went downstairs to the lobby. He stepped outside to get some fresh air. Fatigue tugged at him and he put a hand against the wall to keep upright. He now had a moment to think about Sarah.

He was simply too tired to be really angry when he thought about how quickly Sarah had grabbed her carryon and disappeared. Maybe later he'd feel the anger at how brusque she'd been.

It was the usual Sarah'shit', mission first, then deal with the feelings and emotions afterwards.

 **December 1** **st** **, 9am - Chalet of Jacob and Anita Risch**. **Trub, Switzerland**

Captain Vladmilla Tretiak waited with four Spetnaz operatives in a black SUV.

The SUV was hidden in a stand of cedar trees three kilometers from Jacob and Anita's chalet. Each of Vladmilla's team had come into Switzerland separately via Germany, Austria, France and Italy. They'd crossed into Switzerland by car with ease.

They'd come together as one team in a safe house ten kilometers south of Basel. The FSB had prepositioned SUVs, body armor, weapons and a mini-drone.

Vladmilla looked back into the interior of the SUV and smiled at her team, so far, so good.

She contacted her two hidden sniper teams perched in camouflaged blinds near the chalet. The sniper teams were nestled into the contours of the land and nearly invisible. They were almost exactly where Cole Barker had predicted they would take up position.

Vladmilla was under immense pressure from Moscow to quickly obtain the documents by any means necessary and return them to the Kremlin. The Spetnaz team were all seasoned veterans, all very professional.

She didn't like being rushed, she hated that the chalet was isolated. Vladmilla and the leader of the Spetnaz team, Major Yuri Shatalov suspected a trap but had taken every precaution necessary to sniff out a trap.

The snipers had been in place for the last two days.

The small drone the Russians were using to look down on the chalet Jacob and Anita owned had infrared and normal cameras.

One of Vladmilla snipers was at this very moment monitoring a blue Toyota Verso approaching the chalet. The Toyota stopped outside the front entrance and three people got out.

The sniper teams had been sent photos of Janek, Malina and her boss an American, Charles Bartowski.

He observed the threesome as they approached the front door, and he watched it very closely as it swung back on its hinges.

The two snipers easily recognized Jacob and Anita. They'd seen a lot of the old couple over the last two days. The sniper lined up his crosshairs on Jacob as he greeted his daughter with a hug.

Malina, Janek and Charles were ushered into the chalet.

Vladmilla received the eyewitness report from the snipers. She then turned to Major Shatalov. "What is the drone telling us?"

Major Shatalov maneuvered the joy stick and switched to infrared. "The five individuals are headed for what we believe is the library.

As the SUV covered the three kilometers, Major Shatalov kept an eagle eye on the movement in the house. He saw one body moving back and forth from the library to what he knew was the kitchen.

He turned to Vladmilla.

"There is a large heat source in the kitchen that's blurring the image. I think it's one of those big cast iron Aga stoves. The other four bodies are all nicely grouped around a table in the library. It looks like Anita is bringing food into the library."

Vladmilla gave a thumbs up signal. Now was the time to strike.

When the SUV was fifty meters away, Major Shatalov fired up the electronic jammer and the Spetnaz team and the snipers switched to a very high UHF tactical channel.

Vladmilla reminded everyone, "Remember, our bosses want minimal bloodshed, get the original documents and we'll be out of Switzerland in less than two hours. I'll buy dinner for everyone once we're safely back in Russia."

The front door wasn't locked and the images from the drone showed five people were still in the library. The rest of the house was empty.

Vladmilla gave a signal and she and her team quickly walked up the hall, paused for several heartbeats and entered the library.

Her team fanned out to the left and right.

She and Major Shatalov had memorized the photos of Jacob, Anita, Malina, Janek and Charles. They knew whatever information the FSB had been able to collect about the five of them in the last three days.

Instead of five frightened people, she found four heavily armed people in full body armor and an old man sitting at the head of a large table with his empty hands resting on top of the highly polished surface.

Vladmilla hid her shock well, as did Major Shatalov.

MP5s and Bizon SMG's were now leveled and aimed. Each trigger finger had some pressure on the triggers. It was a Mexican standoff.

Every person in that room knew that the first person to pull the trigger would unleash a blood bath. There would be few winners and many losers.

Kajetan cleared his throat, for some reason it was very dry. He switched to Russian. "Captain Vladmilla Tretiak, my name is Kajetan Baran. I'm the head of the Polish AW. Do you recognize me?"

Vladmilla shook her head once. She'd heard of the man but had never seen him.

Major Shatalov spoke up. "I recognize you Kajetan Baran. We met at a reception in Moscow, six years ago."

Kajetan nodded his head with some degree of relief. "First of all, we're all professionals. I would ask everyone to listen to me carefully. Each of our lives now depends on that professionalism. The Swiss government and I wish to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed. I will ask my people to take a less threatening stance."

Emily, Cole, Sarah and Colonel John Casey still had their targets lined up center mass but relaxed the tension on their trigger fingers. It was noticed by the Russians.

Kajetan took a deep breath. "Captain Tretiak, the documents you've been ordered to retrieve are already in Zurich with the Swiss Government.

"I'm sorry to say your primary mission is impossible to complete."

Kajetan focused all his attention on Vladmilla because her actions in the next couple of minutes would determine all of their fates.

"Allow me to introduce you to my colleagues. On the far left is an Agent with the FIS, beside her is an Agent from MI6 and the blonde lady and the rather husky gentleman are friends from America we've invited over."

Vladmilla had her weapon aimed at Kajetan and gave him a wolfish smile. "You and your colleagues are cut off. All electronic communications have been jammed. You are isolated and, as you can see, outgunned five guns to four.

"We, however, are not alone. If we should die, anyone still alive will not leave this building alive. I have two sniper teams who will avenge us."

Vladmilla felt her courage grow. If this was a trap, it wasn't a very good one.

"I suggest, Mr. Baran, that you order your colleagues to put down their weapons. After we've questioned Jacob and made sure that the documents are not here, we'll leave you unharmed. That is my offer. I urge you as the leader to do the right thing for the sake of your colleagues."

Kajetan had, over the years, met dozens of young agents like Vladmilla, full of zeal and patriotism who would gladly sacrifice their lives. He thought to himself, why is it that if you give a young person, a cause, a white horse to ride and a flag to follow, they'll gladly ride into the jaws of death?

Everyone in the room heard Kajetan let out a big sigh.

He looked over at Colonel Casey and gave him a nod.

Casey looked directly at Major Shalatov and spoke to him in Russian. "I assume you're in command. Let me introduce myself, I'm Colonel John Casey, USMC. Sir, please ask your snipers to look to the ground on their immediate left."

At first nothing happened, Major Shatalov's eyes were boring into John Casey's skull as if to read his thoughts. The tension in the room turned up several notches.

Finally, Major Shalatov spoke to his two sniper teams.

Both Russian snipers looked to their left and noticed a red spot moving on the ground just to their left. A lump formed in the sniper's throats because they now realized that both of them were dead men. They'd been out flanked.

John Casey could see that the Spetnaz commander was hearing back from his sniper teams. Major Shatalov looked over at Vladmilla and shook his head. Casey then looked over at Vladmilla to explain.

"There are two SAS sniper teams, courtesy of MI6. They are located 300 meters behind each one of your teams. They've been in place for three days waiting for your men to arrive and set up. Their infrared signatures are no larger than that of a rabbit."

Kajetan softened his voice. "Captain Tretiak, you and I are players in the great game of espionage. I've been playing this game for over thirty years. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose. The game is all absorbing. It is often fraught with danger and of course the thing we love, the thing we get addicted to is … the great excitement.

"Nothing we're doing here today needs to be life or death. If you stay alive, you get to continue to play the game. Who knows, maybe next time you, Vladmilla Tretiak will win and I, or one of my colleagues, will lose."

"If you put your weapons down, you'll be returned safely and unharmed to Russia. You will not be interrogated. You can keep all your precious secrets.

"At this very moment the Russian Ambassador is in a meeting with the Swiss Minister for Security.

"I urge you to call the Ambassador." Kajetan looked down at his wrist watch. "I think by now he is expecting your call and he will confirm what I've just told you."

Vladmilla felt the bitter anger building up within her. She'd been tricked, lied to by Janek, her asset, and outmatched by this old man sitting in front of her.

Her spotless record of achievements with the FSB would be forever tainted by this mistake. A part of her was shouting out for her to _'_ _pull the trigger'_. Perhaps somehow in the ensuing blood bath her shame would be washed away and her honor saved.

She would die a hero's death.

Major Shatalov sensed the anger building in Vladmilla. He had no desire to die for nothing. He snarled out to her. "Call the fucking ambassador!"

Vladmilla blinked once and then again. She slowly lowered her weapon and pulled out her cell phone.

The jammer was turned off and everyone waited for Vladmilla to finish her conversation with the Ambassador. They heard a lot of yes sirs, of course sirs and I understand sir.

Vladmilla could feel the adrenaline start to slowly drain from her body.

It was over.

She had her orders. She nodded to Major Shatalov and he ordered his men to lower their weapons and stand down.

Vladmilla felt like she'd been punched in the stomach and spoke in an uncertain tone. "Mr. Baran, we are supposed to surrender to FIS Agent Emily Summers."

Emily lowered her weapon and introduced herself.

"Captain Tretiak, you and your men will be handcuffed and taken to Zurich to a special safe house, you'll be under house arrest. Someone from your Embassy will be with you the entire time to ensure your well being and continued cooperation. We will arrange an exchange of agents with your government."

As Vladmilla was being handcuffed, she looked at the stern, no nonsense blonde woman in front of her. "I don't understand. Where are Jacob and the others? We saw and identified everyone at the front door. The infrared cameras tracked everyone from the hall and into the library. Where did you and your comrades come from?"

Sarah made sure Vladmilla's handcuffs were secure then looked up. "Captain, you saw what I wanted you to see. You saw the five people walk to the library. Over the next five minutes as you and your men approached the chalet you saw a person going back and forth to the kitchen."

Kajetan was smiling at Sarah with almost fatherly affection. It was Sarah who had come up with the idea of how to _'switch the bait'_.

Sarah continued, "There is a door beside the big cast iron stove that leads to a cellar. The cellar is lined with mylar foil to mask any heat signatures. The heat from the people hiding in the cellar was being vented through the stoves exhaust pipe.

"That's why the stove looked so hot on your scanner. The five people you saw walk into the library stayed only momentarily, one by one they walked to the kitchen and we took their place before you arrived.

"You believed that it was the same person going back and forth from the kitchen to the study bringing in food and drinks."

As Vladmilla was being led away to an approaching convoy of FIS SUVs, she smiled at Sarah and looked over at Kajetan. "I look forward to the next time we meet in this thing you call the great game. I assure you …. next time …. I will win."

Kajetan gave her the briefest of smiles and closed the door.

 **The Aftermath**

Chuck was cooped up down in the cellar with eight other people. There was Jacob, Anita, Malina, Janek and a four man Swiss Army Special Forces team. There was barely room to swing a cat.

Emily had insisted that all the civilians were to be outfitted in a complete set of body armor in case the plan went sideways. Sarah and Cole had backed her up.

Chuck was still getting used to seeing Casey after all this time.

When it was Chuck's turn to leave the study and head for the kitchen, he wasn't expecting to see the Colonel emerge from the cellar when the door opened.

Chuck's jaw went slack when he saw Casey in full body armor. Before he could utter a word of greeting, Casey rushed past him and said, "Wish us luck Bartowski, your girlfriend has set up a high risk scenario." Then he smiled. "This is my kind of party."

And just like that he was gone, heading for the library. Chuck gingerly went down the stairs into a totally blacked out cellar.

Chuck was still smiling about Casey being here. It made so much sense to have his ex Intersect teammate here. They needed four other people to be with Kajetan in the study, and Sarah trusted Casey with her life.

Chuck knew what Sarah was planning, and he knew what Casey meant when he said, 'high risk'.

He waited and hoped he wouldn't hear shooting. If he heard shooting that meant Sarah's plan had failed.

Time moved agonizingly slowly. The tension in the cellar ratcheted up a notch for each minute that passed. Finally, there were a series of pre arranged knocks on the kitchen door.

It was the signal that everyone could come up. Chuck felt relief flood through him because Sarah Walker had pulled it off.

Damn she was good at being a spy. In that moment Chuck also felt a twinge of sadness because a thought flitted across his consciousness. _'Why, would Sarah Walker every want to stop being the best agent in the CIA?'_

In times past Chuck occasionally had this sense that Sarah was weary with being a spy. But he must've been wrong based on what he was seeing this past week.

Agent Sarah Walker was in her element. She was like this pure breed Arabian race horse who had but one sole purpose … to run. How would she ever survive if she quit being a spy?

 **December 2, 2010- 2:00am-** **Chuck's Flat, Lorrainestrasse 6,- Bern**

Chuck was looking down upon a sea of blonde hair covering his chest. Sarah was asleep and snoring softly. They had both been so exhausted, they'd climbed into bed and gone straight to sleep.

Chuck carefully reached over to the side table and checked his phone.

It was 2am, and there was a cold wind from the northeast howling outside. The wind had sent the temperature plummeting to minus 10oC, snow was predicted.

Chuck looked down at Sarah and gently slipped his arm from underneath her body and gave it a shake to restore some circulation.

He started to relive the events of the day.

When they'd finally returned to Bern, Kajetan had immediately set up a two hour conference call with their bosses. The bosses were very happy and Chuck was reminded of the old saying, _'Victory has a hundred fathers, defeat is an orphan'._

To Chuck's great relief, the call finally ended with the bosses saying, "Written reports are to follow in the next twenty-four hours."

Kajetan had congratulated all of them for pulling off a remarkable coup against the Russians. He then spoke to each one of them privately and gave them his private number.

As he was shaking their hand goodbye, he said, "I'm in your debt. If I can ever be of assistance,don't hesitate to call me .. day or night."

The split second after Kajetan left, Sarah grabbed Chuck's hand. "Chuck, it's time to go home."

Just before they got into the Audi, Sarah gave him a quick kiss and stepped back to look at him and smiled. She then handed him the car keys. "Chuck, you look like I feel. Home Jeeves and don't spare the horses."

Chuck carefully slipped out of bed, grabbed his housecoat and sat down at his tiny kitchen table. The snow had started to fall, it swirled, buffeted by the wind. It matched his mood perfectly.

Chuck pondered his dilemma; he really didn't want to be a spy. He loved working at Valyrian and with Reudi. He didn't regret the last five weeks because it had been amazing. He had had quite the ride on this incredible emotional roller coaster.

Sarah was back in his life, and not as his handler but as his girlfriend. They'd finally crossed the line and become true lovers. He knew with certainty that she loved him, and that made him feel so fantastic. Sometimes he thought it was all a dream, and he was terrified he'd wake up.

Chuck rested his chin in the palm of his hand and stared out into the courtyard.

In spite of what people might've thought, Chuck was a realist because having your parents disappear from your life, with almost no explanation, marked you. The lesson that Chuck had learned was that the person you loved could disappear from your life in the blink of an eye.

Sarah reported to the Director of the CIA, she was once again on the fast track, and deservedly so.

This last mission showed Sarah to be at the apex of being a field agent. The promotions would come next and, ultimately, positions at the highest levels of the US intelligence community.

If Chuck supported her in that career choice, then he might end up working for them. He might become an analyst with the CIA or NSA. He tried to visualize their lives somewhere in the greater Washington area.

He would see Sarah very little during the week because she would be consumed by her job and responsibilities. She'd never keep banker's hours.

Chuck tried to imagine that existence and their respective roles. It might work out for them, but it was laden with so many risks.

He believed that Washington, with all of its power, politics and intrigues, was a caustic and toxic environment.

Deep in his heart he knew that kind of lifestyle wouldn't work for them as a couple because, if they were ever going to make it as couple, they needed to spend a lot of time together.

A great sadness welled up in him; he didn't want to leave Bern. He loved what he was doing, he loved leading his team. He also loved Sarah more than he could ever put in words ….. he didn't want to lose her again.

Chuck wasn't worried about Sarah being attracted to another man. He'd come to terms with the fact that Bryce was no longer a competitor for Sarah's affections. It wasn't a man, it was the CIA who was his chief competitor.

He wearily pushed himself up from the chair and headed back to bed with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Chuck, who loved to solve puzzles and tricky problems, was at a complete loss, because he didn't have an answer on how he could solve the puzzle of them as a couple.

Chuck instantly dismissed the idea of asking Sarah to leave the CIA. He would never, ever ask her do that, because that would be selfish. Chuck knew he had many faults and hang ups, but being selfish wasn't one of them.

He wanted her to be happy and fulfilled. And it seemed to him that she was so energized and so alive when she was a CIA agent.

So if that meant they would be separated for long stretches of time, and if that meant they couldn't talk about what she'd been doing and where she'd been …. well, he would suck it up, if that was the price of continuing to be with her.

He made himself a promise that no matter how shitty it made him feel to have to share Sarah with the CIA, she would have his full support. Such would be the price for her to continue to be a kick ass spy.

The phone call came at 5:30am.

Sarah was in a deep sleep and felt rage building at whoever had the audacity to call at this time in the morning. The lovely dream she was having about Chuck and her hiking together in the Alps had been shredded to pieces by the clamoring ring tone of her cell.

She pulled the cell phone towards her and squinted at the display. She saw the number and quickly sat upright. She was instantly awake. It was the Director calling.

"Walker, secure."

Chuck had woken up when he felt Sarah move suddenly in the bed. A bad premonition was settling over him like a heavy wet blanket.

He listened to Sarah's side of the conversation intensely so as to catch every possible word.

"Good morning sir….

"Thank you sir, I did have a lot of help, I didn't do it alone ….

"Yes sir, the initial plan was mine but Chuck gave me the inspiration …

"Yes sir, he is very clever….

"A letter of commendation …thank you sir ..

Then there was a long pause with Sarah listening. He saw her shoulders droop. When Chuck saw that, he mumbled under his breath, "Not good, not good …shit."

"Today sir, but I was hoping …

"Of course sir … no it's a privilege to be reporting to you..…

"About three weeks … uh, I mean, yes …

"A G5, registration number N170CC …

"Yes sir, report to Langley, first thing tomorrow morning …

The call ended and Sarah looked down at the phone. In that moment, she felt two very different emotions simultaneously. The first was disappointment. Her request for a well deserved vacation had to be placed on hold.

The second emotion was excitement, tinged with pride. She was thrilled at the promotion and the raise she'd just been told about, and of course the glowing letter of commendation from the Polish Government.

It was a singular honor to be reporting directly to the Director of the CIA and it was also recognition that she was the best of the best.

She turned and looked down at Chuck. Suddenly, she was back in touch with her disappointment. His eyes were open and staring straight into her own, like he could see into the depths of her soul. Being Chuck, she had no doubt that he'd figured out what this phone call meant .. what it meant for them.

He sat up beside her and reached for her hand. "So, your master's voice, I assume."

Sarah reacted to his tone. "Chuck, he's my boss not my master. I …. I have to report back to Langley tomorrow morning. A jet …"

Chuck nodded. "Yes, I heard." He smiled, which seemed odd to Sarah. "Why are you smiling?"

Chuck made a gesture with his hand to her phone. "You mentioned the registration number for the G5 they're sending for you …if you changed the letters around a bit and added a 1, it's the same registration number as for the Enterprise .. you know Star Trek."

Sarah blinked her eyes. My God she loved this man, he was her Chuck, talking about a piece of trivia only nerd's would know. She managed to smile at him. "Well, don't worry, I doubt I'll encounter any 'birds of prey' on my journey back."

Chuck squeezed her hand at the 'bird of prey' remark. He would keep the promise he made to himself. He would be positive and upbeat about her success and her promotion.

Sarah reached up with her hand and caressed his cheek. "Chuck, I have to leave in two hours and head up to Basel to meet the plane."

"I'll drive you there, so let me get up and make some breakfast." As Chuck started to rise out of the bed, Sarah clamped her right hand on his wrist and pulled him back down beside her. "Chuck, I'm not going to see you for three weeks. I don't need any food … "

Many days later, Chuck would look back on the hour and a half he spent in bed with this incredible woman. He remembered almost every detail of their time together. He hoped it would sustain him while she was out there …. somewhere.

He now knew what people meant when they used the phrase 'bittersweet'. It was the perfect word for their lovemaking.

 **December 10** **th** **, 2010 –Bern (1 Week since Sarah left on her mission)**

Chuck checked his text messages for the week. He and Sarah had worked out several protocols on how to keep in touch with each other. He didn't know where she was, he didn't know what she was doing. He assumed it was dangerous, that she was at great risk.

So far he didn't feel out of touch. They'd even managed an hour-long phone call that Sarah had set up. He was so excited when she called and so despondent when she had to terminate the call. She sounded okay, a little excited, certainly energized. They'd talked about the people at Valyrian and his team. They even talked about making plans for Sarah to finally reconnect with Ellie.

They'd both laughed because that first meeting between Sarah and Ellie wasn't going to be an easy one. Sarah had said, "I'm going to be wearing full body armor."

Chuck looked at the messages again and thought … only two more weeks.

 **December 23, 2010 –Bern ( 3 Weeks since Sarah left on her mission)**

It appeared to be a very hurried text message from Sarah. Chuck received it at 11pm that night. He continued to stare at it and his heart sank.

 _'Chuck, must rush, last contact for a while, I have to go dark. Mission at critical stage. I love you.'_

It was minus 12C outside. He grabbed his coat, hat and gloves… he needed to get out. He didn't care how cold it was outside. He needed to clear his head otherwise the four walls would collapse in on him and crush him.

The cold air almost took his breath away and the frost seeped into the smallest opening. He walked aimlessly for two kilometers and suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.

What the hell was he going to do? If Sarah stayed in the CIA and reported to the Director, then what he was experiencing now would be the new normal for him.

He needed to talk to somebody or he would go crazy.

He pulled out his phone and pressed a number from memory because he knew this person might be able to help him through his worry and sinking depression. He felt so absolutely helpless and useless. What if Sarah died … would they ever even tell him?"

The phone rang three times and .. "Ja, das ist Emily?"

Chuck looked down at his phone and hesitated. He knew his number was blocked and wouldn't show up. He still had time to hang up. Instead he coughed once to get his voice working.

"Emily it's Chuck .. I know it's late .. but I really need to talk to someone …."

There was a pause on the other end. Chuck was about to apologize for having bothered her and as civilly as possible end the call. Before he could apologize for disturbing her, Emily spoke to him.

There was relief in his voice when she responded. Chuck checked to make sure it was really okay."You're sure it's not too late … okay I'll grab a taxi .."

 ** _A/N-_** _Good news is Chapter 11 is written and in the hands of my esteemed editor. Oh, I should warn you the next chapter is heavy on the Charah._


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N** \- Thank you for your reviews and PMs.

Sincere thanks to michaelfmx for the time and effort he puts forward into editing this story.

 _"_ _I won't tell you that the world matters nothing, or the world's voice, or the voice of society. They matter a good deal. They matter far too much. But there are moments when one has to choose between living one's own life, fully, entirely, completely—or dragging out some false, shallow, degrading existence that the world in its hypocrisy demands. You have that moment now. Choose!"  
― __**Oscar Wilde**_

 _From Chapter 10_

 ** _December 23, 2010 –Bern ( 3 Weeks since Sarah left on her mission)_**

 _It was a very hurried text message from Sarah. Chuck received it at 11pm that night. He continued to stare at it and his heart sank._

 _'_ _Chuck, must rush, last contact for a while, I have to go dark. Mission at critical stage. I love you.'_

 _It was minus 12_ _0_ _C outside. He grabbed his coat, hat and gloves… he needed to get out of his flat. He didn't care how cold it was outside. He needed to clear his head, otherwise the four walls would collapse in on him and crush him._

 _The cold air almost took his breath away and the frost seeped into the smallest opening. He walked aimlessly for two kilometers and suddenly stopped dead in his tracks._

 _What the hell was he going to do? If Sarah stayed in the CIA and reported to the Director, then what he was experiencing now would be the new normal for him._

 _He needed to talk to somebody or he would go crazy._

 _He pulled out his phone and pressed a number from memory, because he knew this person might be able to help him through his worry and sinking depression. He felt so absolutely helpless and useless. What if Sarah died … would they ever even tell him?"_

 _The phone rang three times and …. "Ja, das ist Emily?"_

 _Chuck looked down at his phone and hesitated. He knew his number was blocked and wouldn't show up. He still had time to hang up. Instead he coughed once to get his voice working._

 _"_ _Emily it's Chuck .. I know it's late .. but I really need to talk to someone …."_

 _There was a pause on the other end. Chuck was about to apologize for having bothered her and, as civilly as possible, end the call. Before he could apologize for calling, Emily spoke to him._

 _There was relief in his voice when she responded. Chuck checked to make sure it was really okay. "You're sure it's not too late … okay I'll grab a taxi."_

 **Chapter 11**

 ** _February 25_** ** _th_** ** _, 2011 – ( 8 weeks since Sarah went dark,12 weeks since she left Bern)_**

 **Bahnhoff-Bern, 6:20pm**

Sarah walked quickly from the train platform to her meeting at Jack's Brasserie, located just across from the train station. The cold gust of wind cut through her thin ski jacket like a knife.

Jack's Brasserie was a good choice for a meeting, it would allow her to have a confidential conversation.

It'd been two hours since she landed in Zurich and grabbed the first train to Bern. Sarah had wrestled with a dozen different worries since leaving Washington.

The incredible high from another successful mission had dissipated long ago and left her feeling empty. The praise from the Director for a job well done now sounded tinny and hollow in her ears.

She'd finally managed to talk with Chuck yesterday morning and could kick herself because she had already told him a lie. Sarah had told him that she would be arriving tomorrow not today. He was planning to meet her here at the train station in exactly twenty-four hours.

She convinced herself that it was a necessary lie because it would give her time to really check out how Chuck was doing. She needed to know how he was and how he'd survived her absence and suddenly going dark.

The mission that was only supposed to take three weeks had, at the end of the day, taken three months. One hour after she'd accomplished her mission, she was whisked away by an 'exfil' team. They got her out of Albania in record time.

Twelve hours later, and after a four hour nap on the plane, she was being debriefed at Langley.

Immediately after her debriefing, the Director had sealed the mission file. In the future, the file would be eyes only, the Director CIA and POTUS.

Agent Sarah Walker had been the blue-eyed girl before going on this mission … now, after this last mission, the senior bureaucrats probably believed she could walk on water. Her star was in the ascendance.

Yesterday's phone conversation with Chuck had left her with mixed emotions. She couldn't quite put her finger on exactly what was bothering her. On the surface, the phone call went the way she had been hoping.

Chuck was so obviously grateful and relieved to hear her voice that it had filled her with joy.

He kept asking her if she was okay. Each time she'd assured him, "Chuck, I'm fine, it's over. I'm coming home to see you as soon as I can."

His humor even began to surface a little and he asked her if she'd toppled a dictator or two down in South America.

She laughed out loud at his comment. "No, Chuck, no dictators were toppled and stop fishing to get me to tell you about the mission … you know I can't."

She was elated to hear his voice. There was no way Chuck would know that silent tears fell down her cheeks when in a shaky voice he'd shared with her how desperate he'd become when she'd gone dark.

But then, in a much stronger voice, he'd told her that he understood why she'd had to go dark. He told her that her safety was far more important than risking trying to get in touch with him.

Sarah's voice had been tinged with excitement when she told him the Director had approved her request for six weeks of vacation. She shared with him how excited she was to be coming back to him, to his … to their… tiny flat in Bern.

That's when Chuck said something in a skeptical tone. "Well, let's hope that the Director and the country can spare you for that long. I'll be thrilled if he leaves you alone for even two weeks."

After a short uncomfortable pause during which the silence weighed heavily on them both, Chuck said, "Anyways, I'm sure that won't happen, get back here as quick as you can. I've really missed you."

Sarah had so much she wanted to say to him, so much to discuss. The Director had dangled a huge carrot in front of her. She wanted to discuss it with Chuck. But not over the phone, she wanted to see him, hold him and look into his eyes.

She knew that there was a lot that Chuck had left unsaid during their phone call. In fact, she was surprised how he'd ended the call. There had been a tinge of melancholy in his voice.

"It's late here … I'd better head off to bed, ..uhh… we're really busy at Valyrian. Reudi and I are working on a new area for us to expand the business into. I'll be waiting for you on the train platform …. Goodnight Sarah, I'm so glad you're safe … I love you."

Sarah was relieved to get out of the biting wind that was scouring the open Bahnhof Platz. People coming out of the train station were bundled up. As they came through the doors, the cold wind hit them. They lowered their heads and braced themselves as they scurried across the plaza seeking shelter from the wind.

In a far corner of Jack's Emily Summers was sitting alone.

She was dressed in cream colored jeans and what looked like a very warm green lamb's wool turtleneck. Her light auburn hair was pulled back into a swirl at the back of her head.

Emily looked up at Sarah and their eyes met.

Sarah had called Emily on her private cell number yesterday, just after she'd gotten off the phone with Chuck. Only minutes into the conversation, Sarah asked Emily if she'd seen Chuck at all over the last several months. "Yes, Sarah, I'm at Valyrian three or four times a week. I've seen a lot of Charles."

Sarah had then set up this confidential meeting and begged Emily not to tell Chuck they were getting together.

After they'd hugged and kissed each other on both cheeks, Sarah took off her ski jacket and sat down. As the waiter was taking their drink's order, Sarah was able to take a good look at Emily. She was, of course, a beautiful woman, but there was something extra. A glow that seemed to make her green eyes sparkle in the soft lighting.

Emily sipped her glass of Kir. "Welcome back to Bern Sarah, shall we switch to Russian?"

Sarah didn't waste any time on preliminaries. "Emily, how's Chuck? How come you've seen so much of him lately?"

Emily was expecting the question and she mused that Sarah was right to be worried about Charles.

"Two weeks after you left Bern, my boss at FIS agreed that I should continue to work at Valyrian as a cover job. Each week I usually spend about forty percent of my time there."

Sarah was a little surprised that the FIS weren't making better use of Emily's considerable talents as a spy. "I thought after our successful mission with the Russians that the FIS would've given you a much more exciting assignment."

Emily angled her head and looked at Sarah rather intently. "Sarah, I was happy to be assigned there. I also requested a move from being in the field. I put together a proposal for my boss, whereby I would focus on the protection and security of important dignitaries visiting Switzerland."

Sarah was still trying to figure out why Emily would ask for the change. She was younger than Sarah and was obviously brilliant as an operative in the field.

Emily paused. "The other part of my proposal was to have two trainee FIS agents at a time spend three weeks with me at Valyrian. I would complete their training on hand to hand combat skills."

Emily smiled at Sarah. "Valyrian has leased two more floors in the building. They are growing as a company. I now have my own dojo, where I hope you and I will have some fun." Sarah liked the idea of sparring with Emily. They were well matched.

Emily continued. "The FIS has established a contract with Valyrian. Reudi and Charles have been cleared to educate the trainee FIS agents on encryption, hacking, getting around firewalls and defeating building security systems.

"When I'm not at Valyrian I'm usually on close protection details for select diplomats or their families when their visiting Bern."

Emily leaned forward in a conspiratorial manner. "Reudi and Charles are highly respected by the FIS and I think MI6. They won't tell me who they met with, but two weeks ago the FIS flew them over to London. It was all hush-hush.

"It's obviously something to do with computers. I've tried everything I can think of to wheedle more information out of the two of them." She grinned at Sarah. "You know how we spies hate secrets."

Emily leaned forward and said, "You know the ' _old Sumerian proverb'_. _"What is said in secret is revealed in the women's quarters._ Don't worry, I'll find out who they met up with when they went to London."

Sarah was wondering what had brought about Emily's desire to change the trajectory of her career so suddenly.

Emily's phone beeped and she looked down at the number. When she realized who was calling, a smile formed at the corners of her mouth and her eyes visibly brightened. Sarah also caught the tiny flair of her nostrils.

It was then pretty obvious to Sarah, ' _my God, Emily's lover was on the phone'_.

Emily excused herself and went to the front of the Brasserie to take the call. She obviously didn't want Sarah to hear who was calling. As Sarah watched, she closely observed Emily's body language. She was pacing back and forth near the entrance to the Brasserie. She touched her hair several times and laughed as she was talking with the person at the other end.

Now it all made sense, Emily Summers was in love, and it looked like she'd fallen very hard. She wondered who the lucky man was.

Unbidden, Sarah felt a growing sense of unease rise up within her. Suddenly all the pieces started to fall into place.

Emily was in love with Chuck. While Sarah had been away, Chuck had reached out and Emily had been waiting for 'Charles' so she could comfort him. Shit!

Emily came back to the table and immediately recognized the sudden change that had taken place within Sarah. Sarah's eyes were narrowed, her jaw was clenched and her posture was rigid.

A frosty air had settled over the table.

Emily knew in that moment exactly what Sarah Walker was thinking, and she wasn't about to put her mind at ease.

The truth was Emily was pissed off with Sarah Walker for leaving Charles in the lurch. The agent part of Emily could forgive Sarah, because that's what happened when you went on a mission. But the 'woman in love' part of her couldn't forgive quite so easily.

Charles had hit rock bottom when he'd come over to her place the early morning of Christmas Eve. They'd talked for three hours and Emily had let him crash on the couch.

In that instant, looking at him asleep on her couch, she made the decision that Charles would spend Christmas with her and her family.

Sarah needed to know exactly what the consequences of her actions were and who she'd hurt.

In an innocent tone Emily asked, "Sarah, is there something wrong? You seem suddenly upset?"

Sarah's temper was rising by the second. She didn't care that she was actually blushing and didn't even try to hide it.

She'd totally misread Emily Summers as a person and a former colleague. Sarah was about to unload on this Swiss 'bitch', when Emily cleared her throat.

"Sarah, that was Reudi on the phone. I'm going over to his place after we're finished. He doesn't know I'm meeting with you, I've kept our meeting secret, as you requested."

Sarah sagged in her seat and the relief that flooded her face made Emily smile. "You thought it was Charles who was calling me, didn't you?"

Sarah blushed again but ignored her jibe and her question. "So Emily, you're in love with Reudi! That's why you've restructured your job to be at Valyrian so much."

Emily laughed. "Yes, I'm in love with Reudi Vischer. God help me!

"I don't understand how I let it happen. He's an acquired taste, but once you've tasted … well." Emily leaned forward to confide some insights about Reudi with Sarah.

"You know, the man drives me crazy. He can be so 'Swiss', you know reserved, formal and proper ... like he's got a lemon shoved up his ass. And he can be such a nerd at times, especially around Chuck." Emily sat back and a smile slowly appeared.

"But most of the time he's warm, loving, insightful, brilliant and the most important thing is … he adores me."

"If I'm away from Reudi for three or four days I grow uncomfortable if we don't facetime or at least text each other. Whoever said _'love is a form of madness'_ knew the truth of it."

Emily reached for her glass and finished her drink.

After a moment, Sarah asked in a weak voice, "Emily, please, tell me, how's Chuck?"

Emily got the waiter's attention and ordered another Kir. Sarah asked for a single malt. Emily put both hands on top of the table as she collected her thoughts.

"Sarah, when you went dark Chuck was beside himself with anxiety. It was 'the not knowing'- if you were safe or not, that ate away at him. He reached out to me, to Reudi, to Malina, Janek and even Jacob and Anita. We've all spent time with him to keep him on an even keel."

In a whisper, Sarah said, "The mission was only supposed to take three weeks. The Director looked me in the face and told me that."

Emily pursed her lips. "Don't tell me, let me guess, the Director of the CIA lied to you. Come on Sarah, you and I both know they never tell you the full story. They only tell you what you need to know to accomplish the mission. Or even worse, they haven't got a clue themselves, so they send their little canaries into the mine … to see what will happen."

Sarah in a cautious tone asked, "Is Chuck angry at me? I mean, for being away so long?"

Emily shook her head. "Chuck's angry at the CIA. He told me once, when he'd had a little too much to drink, that he detested your former boss, who apparently died in an accident.

"I don't think he believes this new Director is much different than the one who died."

It made some sense to Sarah now why Chuck believed the Director would curtail her vacation.

Sarah took a generous sip of her single malt and felt the warmth spread through her stomach. "Emily, before I left for Bern, the Director sat me down and offered me a new job."

Emily felt sad for Sarah because here was the central dilemma for her and Chuck as a couple. What did Sarah really want to do with her life?

Sarah continued, "I have a week to think about it. I would be assistant station chief in Ankara. I'd have full diplomatic status and I would be training with one of the best case officers in the CIA. Emily, it means they're grooming me to be a station chief."

Emily reached out and touched Sarah's hand. "Sarah, congratulations, I truly mean it, and a tiny part of me is envious about what lies ahead for you."

Sarah was warmed by Emily's sincerity. "The other thing is I can take Chuck with me. The Director will make him an analyst; he'll work at the Embassy, which means there will be fewer secrets between us."

Sarah thought Emily would be excited at that piece of news.

Emily sighed, "Sarah, Chuck loves you and I'm pretty sure he'll be very tempted to follow you to Turkey. But he won't do well being hidden in your shadow. He's not the kind of man who can be Mr. Sarah Walker."

Sarah was stunned by Emily's remark. "Emily, Chuck will be a great analyst. He won't be hidden in my shadow. I think you're wrong. This is our chance to work on being a couple and to be together. It's a win-win. Can't you see that?"

Emily put her hand on the back of her neck and rubbed it. "Sarah, I've learned some things about Charles. He will ultimately survive if you make a clean break with him here and now."

Emily could see the shock register on Sarah's face at the thought of breaking up with Chuck.

Emily had her attention. "You'll have a clean slate, no one to worry about. You can go and build what will be a very successful career in the US intelligence community.

"Your leaving Chuck will cause him great pain, for a while. But all of us here will help him through the loss.

"Sarah, you are the great love of his life, so a part of him will always love you. He's an amazing man and has a huge heart. He'll eventually find someone who can make him happy.

"He'll never forget you, because you will always have a piece of his heart. But he'll move on … as will you."

Sarah felt her eyes start to mist. She wasn't expecting to hear any of this feedback from Emily.

Emily felt sorry for Sarah but needed to say what had been on her mind for weeks now. This could well be her only chance.

"If you and Chuck create your own future here or somewhere else, it will have to be a future where you're not climbing the intelligence career ladder. Then you'll both survive, no, I think you'll thrive as a couple. I envy your future together."

Sarah had crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. She was not happy with what she was hearing coming out of Emily's mouth.

"Sarah, if you try to grasp onto both your intelligence career and to a relationship with Chuck, you'll lose him for sure. It may take several years, but eventually you'll become strangers to each other. The secrets you can't share with him, the demands of job, will push you apart."

Sarah was beyond angry with Emily and her tone was scathing. "Emily, how nice it must be for you to prognosticate on how our life is going to turn out. You don't know Chuck as well as I do. You've known him for what, three, four months at most? I've known him for years."

Despite a sliver of fear at the thought of having to deal with an angry CIA agent, Emily went in for the kill.

Sarah needed to hear the truth. "You were his handler for two years. You've both told me how you hated the asset-handler relationship. That relationship was dysfunctional. It got so bad you left him to be partners with Bruce."

Sarah shot back, "It was Bryce, not Bruce, and I can't believe Chuck told you about him."

Emily's voice was now a little harsh. "You've been his real girlfriend for what, maybe five weeks and then you went away?" Emily now landed the haymaker. "I've been Charles' close friend for three months, Sarah."

Emily's temper was up because Charles was very dear to her and Reudi. "Sarah, Chuck changed when you left him for Bryce. He didn't collapse into a heap like he'd done with Jill."

Sarah couldn't believe that Chuck had shared so much with Emily.

Emily kept on. "He picked up the pieces of his life and was doing pretty well before I, much to my regret, dragged him back into the spy life.

"When you left this last time, he was expecting to see you in three weeks. But the mission always comes first. I know that. He knows that. But guess what, it still devastated him."

Sarah snarled. "That wasn't my fault."

Emily sighed. "Of course it wasn't your fault. Sarah, if you stay in the game, have you given any thought to how Chuck's going to cope every time you go away?

He'll need to create some distance between you and him in order to survive. He'll have to love you less than he does, else he'll start to self medicate his worries or simply have a nervous breakdown."

Sarah shook her head. "You're over dramatizing this. There are lots of relationships in our business that survive."

Emily shot back. "Bullshit! Notice you used the word survive. But you and I both know how high the divorce rate is for field operatives … it's 60%."

A long silence enveloped them. Sarah and Emily were looking at each other intensely. Now both women had their arms crossed.

Emily finally softened her voice. "Sarah, maybe I'm wrong. All I know is that I'm in love with Reudi.

"I know that if the FIS hadn't agreed to my requests and restructured my job, I would've quit. Remember when I told you at the chalet in Arosa about the time I fell in love with my asset? And, how I refused to go with him?

"I told you then … that I guess I didn't love him enough. Well, this time I know what I have to do, I will not lose Reudi because of the FIS."

Sarah uncrossed her arms and let them fall to her sides. She felt fatigue wash over her. Suddenly, the jetlag, the alcohol and the long mission had gotten to her. But this conversation with Emily had drained the last bit of energy she had left.

"Emily, I can tell you this. You'll understand, you've been there and done that. The last eight weeks I almost didn't make it. I was more distracted on this mission then I can ever remember.

"I tried to focus only on the mission and put my thoughts and feelings about Chuck in the back of my mind. You know, compartmentalize your thoughts and bring them out when the mission is finished. That's what they teach us. But every time there was a lull, I could think only of him."

Emily leaned forward. "Sarah, one last piece of advice and then I'll shut up. Don't lie to Chuck. You're here now and his flat is only 15 minutes away. Go to him and start the healing process between the two of you.

"Sarah, he's a much more confident man when you're by his side."

Emily thought for a moment and made a decision on the spot. "Oh, I might as well tell you this, so if Chuck decides to tell you the news … act surprised. Today, Reudi invited Chuck to become a partner in Valyrian. Chuck has two days to make his decision."

They both stood up and Sarah gave Emily a quick hug. "I'm not sure if I'm really angry at you or grateful, say Hi to Reudi for me. He's a lucky man."

Emily walked with Sarah to the door. They bundled up preparing to face the bitter cold. Emily turned towards her, "Sarah, do you want me to drop you off at Chuck's flat or at a hotel?"

Sarah hesitated for all of two heartbeats. "Drop me off at Chuck's flat."

 **February 25** **th** **, 2011- 8:20pm-** **Chuck's Flat, Lorrainestrasse 6,- Bern**

There were exactly 55 steps to climb in order to get to Chuck's flat on the fourth floor.

Sarah counted each one of them, and after each step wanted to turn around. She was exhausted and nervous that Chuck would be different. Maybe he'd be more cautious around her. Maybe Emily was right that Chuck would have to somehow love her less in order for him to survive when she was away on missions.

Her 'flight' response was in high gear.

Emily hadn't pulled any of her punches with Sarah, and they had left their mark.

As she reached the fourth floor, she automatically headed for the wrought iron table in the hallway to get Chuck's spare key. She stopped herself and instead went and stood in front of the door.

She was frozen in place. Twice she had raised her hand to knock but jerked it back each time.

She had no energy to deal with all the thoughts racing around in her head. Sarah took two deep breaths and reminded herself that she had committed to being Chuck's girlfriend for a year, come hell or high water. She knocked twice, loudly.

Chuck was in the middle of cleaning the flat in preparation for Sarah's homecoming tomorrow. He was about to put fresh linens on the bed.

Ever since he'd gotten home from work, he'd scoured and cleaned every inch of his tiny flat.

He wanted everything to be perfect for Sarah. He was grateful she was safe and thrilled she was coming back to him. They had so much to talk about. He had special news to share with her about his work.

The odd thing was that Chuck's flat was already spotless; his latest binge of cleaning and scrubbing was a release for him and also served as a distraction. He'd needed a lot of distractions to get through the last eight weeks. Thank God he had his work and friends.

Chuck had yellow latex gloves on his hands and he was wearing an old T-shirt and tattered jeans. He was holding a wet sponge in his left hand when he opened the door.

Sarah looked at Chuck and burst out laughing. "Chuck, isn't this is a little bit early for spring cleaning, I mean it's freezing out there."

Chuck said only one word. "Sarah!"

He dropped the sponge and lunged at her. He almost crushed her in his bear like hug. Her bag fell from her grasp to the floor with a thud.

Sarah hugged him back with all her strength. As they kissed, Chuck picked her up until her feet were dangling in the air and somehow managed to close the front door all in the same motion.

As they came up for air, Chuck said, "What happened, I thought you were coming home tomorrow?"

Sarah kissed him again long and hard and finally managed to mumble. "Surprise!"

At that moment Sarah wanted him in the bedroom. As she kissed him she slowly maneuvered him into the bedroom and then stopped short in her tracks.

The bed needed to be made up, it had been stripped bare. She looked at Chuck. "Sarah, I was expecting you tomorrow."

Their first act together as a couple, after being apart for three months, was to put fresh linens on the bed and a new cover on the duvet.

Chuck kept smiling at her and she couldn't stop smiling at him as they raced to get the bed made up. The anticipation of being with each other built up quickly and Sarah felt the temperature in the room rise.

She had a tiny revelation. Who would've thought that the mundane act of making up a bed with Chuck could be so damn exciting?

Once they put the duvet on the bed Chuck turned off the lights. They met at the foot of the bed.

 **Next Morning**

Sarah was still asleep when Chuck tried to slip out of bed. He'd moved only a couple of inches when a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. Sarah's strength always caught Chuck unawares. He looked down at her and smiled.

"Chuck,... where … where are you going …don't leave me." Sarah was still half asleep but wasn't about to let him slip away from her grasp.

Chuck leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. "I'll be right back, I need to get our breakfast and some food in the house. You came early, so unless you want to just make love and not eat ...?"

Sarah gave Chuck a sleepy smile and closed her eyes. "Okay, get food, we need food for energy … then ...more love…" Chuck carefully tucked the duvet around her. She gave him one more tired smile and quickly went back to sleep.

She woke up an hour later. This time she was refreshed and grabbed Chuck's housecoat. She went and retrieved her carryon from the hallway and took it over to the closet.

She noticed that Chuck had filled her half of the closet with his things. There was no space in the closet for her stuff. What the hell?

Sarah knew full well that she'd never used the space Chuck had made for her .. but .. still .. for him to take it back? She was surprised how much that upset her. She glanced at the side table on Chuck's side of the bed and was relieved to see the framed picture of them was still there.

Chuck hadn't given up on her.

Sarah went into the kitchen and started looking for the miniature hour glass. She had a lot of things to share with Chuck. As she looked for the hour glass she remembered her insight at the chalet in Arosa.

Chuck was the magical door to another life. So why was she frozen in place at the threshold, part of her looking through the door and longing for what was on the other side.

And why was the other part of her looking back. If she looked back then she saw the familiar. It had its own attractions and they weren't trivial.

Kajetan had been correct _'the great game of espionage'_ was thrilling. And she was so very good at playing that game. It was at that moment that Emily's words resonated with her and an image emerged in Sarah's mind.

It was an image of her dressed in her black tactical gear. She was ready to head out on another mission. In her left hand she was holding her Smith & Weston down by her side. And she was holding her right hand out to Chuck, who was standing at the entrance.

It was a doorway that led into her world. She was inviting him into her life and beckoning him to cross the threshold. Chuck's brown eyes were hesitant and doubtful.

The image lingered, and deep in her heart she finally realized that there was nothing magical about her life. Emily had been right, Chuck would wither as a person if he spent too much time in Agent Sarah Walker's world.

When Sarah opened her eyes a smile slowly spread across her face until she was beaming. A tiny tumbler in her mind had finally turned and unlocked an insight. That insight linked her mind with her soul.

She now knew what she wanted to do. Where the hell was Chuck! She was now desperate to talk with him, and she was famished.

Chuck came up the four flights of stairs having lugged up the two large bags of groceries and some chocolate croissants for their breakfast. His hands were full, so he bumped his head against the door twice. Seconds later the door flew open.

A beaming sleep tussled blonde Amazon moved in close and put her warm hands around his neck and gave him a very warm and wet kiss.

Chuck literally had his hands full but was able to say, "Hmmph … I could kiss you better if my arms weren't full."

Sarah laughed, patted him on the chest and grabbed one of the bags off him. They walked together into the kitchen arm in arm.

Sarah tugged on Chuck's arm, "Chuck, where the hell did you put that miniature hour glass? I have a lot of important things to share with you."

 **February 27** **th** **, 2011- 8:00am –** **On the road, North West of Zurich**

Sarah had rented a Porsche 911 for the week. At the moment she was happier than she'd ever remember being. She was with the man she loved and she was barreling along an Autobahn with no speed limit, who wouldn't be happy.

She had her right hand resting on Chuck's thigh and was listening to Chuck update her on Ellie, Devon and Morgan. She kept stealing glances at him and smiled to herself at the decisions they'd made yesterday.

Sarah was only half listening to Chuck, while she reflected on the last two days. It had been a momentous forty-eight hours for her, for Chuck, for them.

Chuck had eventually found the miniature hour glass and after breakfast Sarah sat him down and started to share with him. She would do five minutes and and hand the hour glass to him, then Chuck would talk for five minutes.

They shared like this for two hours. As time went on, Chuck became more relaxed and he started to look at her a certain way. Sarah caught his change of mood and she then arched an eyebrow and gently ran her index finger across her bottom lip.

She saw Chuck's pupils widen. With her left hand she reached across the table and touched his hand. And before too long they were back in the bedroom.

Later, over a lamb dinner that Chuck made for their supper, Sarah sheepishly told him that she'd met with Emily before seeing him. He wasn't exactly angry with her, but she could tell the deceit had hurt him.

Sarah had apologized to him for the deceit and vowed to herself, she'd make it up to him a thousand fold.

She couldn't talk about the mission but she did let Chuck know that she was exhausted and had made the decision to get out of the field.

After supper, Sarah shared with Chuck that she was going to put in for a transfer to the DSS, the Diplomatic Security Service, and request to be stationed in Bern, she saw him smile from ear to ear.

Chuck asked her, "How likely is it ...I mean … that you'll get into the DSS and be posted to Bern?"

Sarah shrugged her shoulders. "I'll call in every favor that's owed to me. I'll ask Emily, the FIS and Kajetan to put in a good word for me. At the end of the day, if they say no …well, you'll have to feed me for a while until I figure out what I'm going to do and where I'm going to work."

Sarah zoned back into Chuck talking about Devon. Her mind drifted again and she remembered her exact words to him last night. "We need time for us, we need to make Chuck and Sarah the number one priority."

What pleased Sarah the most was that Chuck had shared with her Reudi's offer for him to become a partner. He was over the moon with excitement.

But there was a fly in the ointment.

To become a full partner in Valyrian Chuck would have to put 'equity' into the business. Sarah asked how much. Chuck mumbled, "Oh, 400,000 Swiss Francs."

Chuck listed it out for her. "Well, with the money that Beckman gave me and what I've been able to save. I've got 100,000 Swiss Francs in the bank. So, I still have to come up with another 300,000. I can't ask Ellie and Devon because they've just bought a new home. I don't think my dad has any free cash. So, I've got to go and talk to a Swiss Banker. I'm not a citizen, so it may be tricky."

Sarah had listened carefully as Chuck talked about this amazing opportunity. In many ways she knew that this had been his dream when he was in Stanford, before Bryce got him kicked out.

That's when Sarah had looked at him and said one word. "Lichtenstein."

Chuck blinked a couple of times. "Sarah, you're not suggesting we set up a con to raise the money … I mean … you're joking .. right?"

Sarah laughed and shook her head. "No, Chuck not 'a' Lichtenstein …I need you to come with me 'to' Lichtenstein. You know the tiny little country between Germany and Switzerland."

 **February 27** **th** **, 2011- 11:30am –** **Lambda Privatbank, Lichtenstein**

The unctuous banker in the grey suit backed out of the door and finally left them alone in a darkly paneled private room. There was no surveillance, but Sarah pulled out a tiny cube and switched it on. Thereby ensuring their privacy.

Chuck was sitting beside Sarah as she touched the safety deposit box in front of them.

"Chuck, during my second year on the job, an older agent, whom I greatly respected, took me aside and explained that any field agent worth their salt had better prepare for the worst case scenario. That scenario is when you as a spy might truly be _'out in the cold'_. When that day comes, you'd better have a place to go and money to speed you on your way."

Chuck had been in a bit of a trance since they'd crossed the border into Lichtenstein and then walked into the bank. It felt like he was actually living in a 'Bourne' movie and Sarah Walker was Jason Bourne.

Sarah opened the bank box and emptied the contents onto the table.

He ignored the Beretta and spare magazine that thudded on the table. The thing that caught his eye were two passports with his picture in them and four other passports with Sarah's picture inside.

Sarah smiled. "Chuck, I had these made up for you just after Agent Longshore almost put you in a bunker. I almost lost you then and I swore, in that moment, that I was never going to let them do that to you, ever."

Chuck felt a lump grow in his throat. He loved this incredibly complex but amazing woman so much. He rested his hand on her shoulder and looked down at the passports.

The memory of almost losing Chuck to a bunker lingered and kept her from speaking. She took a minute to compose herself. "Chuck, I've got three different currencies here, but I think it totals to about 325,000 Swiss Francs."

She reached up and caressed his cheek with her hand.

"You don't need to talk to any 'stinking' Swiss Banker."

She smiled at him and her blue eyes were still moist. "I want to give this to you. And by the way, this is all my money. It's legit. I earned it the hard way, eight long years, plus some good investment advice from a Scottish Banker, named Hamish Menzies … well I'll tell you about him … another time. "

Chuck was speechless but was finally able to talk. He shocked Sarah when he said, "Sarah, this is your money, I can't possibly take this from you. I wouldn't feel right taking money from my girlfriend."

Sarah was about to argue with him when he put his hand on top of hers.

Chuck had a twinkle in his eye. "I know this isn't exactly the most romantic place, unless maybe you're an accountant …But what I was going to say … is .. it might be okay if my fiancé was gifting me this money in order to build our future together ….that might be okay."

Sarah cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. "Chuck, did you just …. I can't believe it …. did you just propose to me in a dimly lit bank vault buried three stories underground?"

Chuck gave a nervous laugh. "Ahhh, no, of course not …don't be silly … because …. that wouldn't be very romantic. Would it?"

"No, Chuck, it wouldn't be remotely romantic. There isn't a woman on this entire planet who would possibly entertain such a proposal."

A pause ensued and then a smile started to play at the corners of her mouth.

"But there is an intimate little restaurant across the street and a hotel right beside it. You might have better luck over there."

 _A/N- I was going to end the story here. But michaelfmx thinks there is still work to be done in this story. Always listen to your editor! Based on his sagacious advice, there will be a chapter 12 dealing with Sarah and Ellie and then a small epilogue_.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

 **A/N** \- Chapter 12 is the last chapter and an epilogue rolled into one. It has taken me far too long to write this .. and for that I apologize. Real life has 'tasked' me. I always complete my stories but have never been a 'quick' writer. That being said, thank you for being patient and following this story. And of course, all the comments, PMs and encouragement along the way.

Sincere thanks to michaelfmx for the time and effort he has put forward into editing this story. I value our collaborations, merci, mon ami.

 _"I love Chuck Bartowski and I don't know what to do about it."_

- **Sarah Walker**

 ** _'_ _From Chapter 11'_**

 _Chuck was sitting beside Sarah as she touched the safety deposit box in front of them._

 _"_ _Chuck, during my second year on the job, an older agent, whom I greatly respected, took me aside and explained that any field agent worth their salt had better prepare for the worst case scenario. That scenario is when you as a spy might truly be 'out in the cold'. When that day comes, you'd better have a place to go and money to speed you on your way."_

 _Chuck had been in a bit of a trance since they'd crossed the border into Lichtenstein. It felt like he was actually living in a 'Bourne' movie and Sarah Walker was Jason Bourne._

 _Sarah opened the bank box and emptied the contents onto the table._

 _He ignored the Beretta and spare magazine that thudded on the table. The thing that caught his eye were two passports with his picture in them and four other passports with Sarah's picture inside._

 _Sarah smiled. "Chuck, I had these made up for you just after Agent Longshore almost put you in a bunker. I almost lost you then and I swore, in that moment, that I was never going to let them do that to you, ever."_

 _Chuck felt a lump grow in his throat. He loved this incredibly complex but amazing woman so much. He rested his hand on her shoulder and looked down at the passports._

 _Sarah felt the lump in her throat and kept quiet. She took a minute to compose herself. "Chuck, I've got three different currencies here, but I think it totals to about 325,000 Swiss Francs."_

 _She reached up and caressed his cheek with her hand._

 _"_ _You don't need to talk to any 'stinking' Swiss Banker."_

 _She smiled at him and her blue eyes were still moist. "I want to give this to you. And by the way, this is all my money. It's legit. I earned it by the sweat of my brow and some good investment advice from a Scottish Banker, Hamish Menzies … well I'll tell you about him … another time. "_

 _Chuck was speechless but was finally able to talk. He shocked Sarah when he said, "Sarah, this is your money, I can't possibly take this from you. I wouldn't feel right taking money from my girlfriend. What kind of man does that?"_

 _Sarah was about to argue with him when he put his hand on top of hers._

 _Chuck had a twinkle in his eye. "I know this isn't exactly the most romantic place, unless maybe you're an accountant …But what I was going to say … is .. it might be okay if my fiancé was gifting me this money in order to build our future together ….that might be okay."_

 _Sarah cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. "Chuck, did you just …. I can't believe it …. did you just propose to me in a dimly lit bank vault buried three stories underground?"_

 _Chuck gave a nervous laugh. "Ahhh, no, of course not …don't be silly … because …. that wouldn't be very romantic. Would it?"_

 _"_ _No, Chuck, it wouldn't be remotely romantic. There isn't a woman on this entire planet who would possibly entertain such a proposal."_

 _A pause ensued and then a smile started to play at the corners of her mouth._

 _"_ _But there is an intimate little restaurant across the street and a hotel right beside it. You might have better luck over there."_

 **Chapter 12**

 **Seven Weeks Later**

 **JetBlue Flight 1308, Dulles to Burbank**

Hi, my name is Chuck and here are some things you may not know.

I'm now an engaged man. Sarah agreed to marry me in a cozy back corner of a little café in Lichtenstein.

I didn't have an engagement ring and was going to put off my proposal until Sarah handed me a small blue velvet bag. Inside was my mother's bracelet, the one I'd given Sarah almost two years before at the Christmas party at the Buy More.

I must've given her a strange look because she put her hand on my arm and said, "Chuck, when you gave this to me, I was your handler and you were my asset. I told you then that I couldn't accept it. Well, now things are different …. so for now… instead of a ring …"

So when I bent down on one knee and I proposed she held out her left hand and I fastened the bracelet onto her wrist. That bracelet means everything to me because it's really the only thing I have that connects me to my mom.

Now I know that you know, that being engaged to Sarah Walker was always my deepest wish. Some of you might even call it my greatest fantasy.

You know, the fantasy that plays out in your mind when you're sitting in chemistry class in high school, staring across the classroom at the most beautiful blonde girl you've ever seen. That same blonde, who happens to be the head cheerleader and the most popular girl in school.

You know what I'm talking about. You're lost in a daydream, a farfetched fantasy about dating the head cheer leader, even though she doesn't even know your name.

I bet there are a lot of you who probably still believe that Sarah is way out of my league, well all I can say is …A lot of things have changed since Burbank, and I no longer believe that any more.

But don't get me wrong, Sarah is a girl in a million and I thank all the deities every day she's in love with me.

My dad kept a poem on his desk written by Robert Burns. The one line I remember is ' _The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men Gang aft agley'._ In other words, things don't always work out the way you plan.

Reudi's generous offer to make me a partner floundered on the hidden rocks of Swiss law and the fact that his father was a silent investor. No matter which way we tried to make the partnership work, I would always be a 'junior' partner with Reudi and his dad owning 65% of the company.

Sarah and I talked long into the night about what to do; we could accept the fact I would be a junior partner in Valyrian or turn Reudi's kind offer down and maintain the status quo.

It was Sarah who came up with a third option.

She suggested the two of us start up our own company back in the States.

She pointed out that between the two of us we had 425,000 dollars and everything that Reudi and Emily were doing in Valyrian, we could do back in the States in our own company. The added benefit, as Sarah so cogently pointed out, would be that there would be no 'junior' partners, just two equal partners.

It took four weeks for Sarah and me to say all of our goodbyes. It was a whirlwind of goodbye lunches and dinners. Reudi and Emily took us out for a special last dinner that finally ended in the wee hours of the morning. I truly felt I was leaving home to go home. It just felt so strange.

All of our funds were discreetly sent to some other accounts Sarah had set up in Burbank. She really does know how to move money around the world and still be able to remain anonymous.

The Scottish banker in her past taught her well.

However, not everything went so smoothly. Sarah leaving the CIA wasn't as easy as we'd hoped.

It took almost two full weeks for Sarah to be completely processed out of the CIA. We stayed in her Washington apartment for the duration of her 'out processing'. After our first night there, the two pictures of Bryce, one in the living room and the other one in the bedroom, were mercifully hidden away from my sight. I'm not sure if Sarah threw them out or hid them away.

I hope it was the former.

Sarah was gone twelve long hours each day as she was debriefed on her former assets and missions. And there was other stuff she simply didn't want to talk with me about. I didn't push her to tell me because I had a pretty good idea this was about her 'wet' work.

On the last day, the Director asked to meet with the both of us.

My only interaction with the CIA upper echelon up to this point had been with Langston Graham. A name that should live in infamy. I mean really, what do you say about the man who told me _'to enjoy the rest of my life'_ while prodding General Beckman into ordering Casey to terminate me almost the next day?

The Director I met with was charming, persuasive and, behind the very civilized and polished veneer, a powerful man who could help or hinder both of our lives.

We spent an hour with him and the final 'deal' we worked out was that Sarah would be put on what he called the reserve list. The bare bones of the deal was this; twice a year the Director could call on the both of us for a week at a time to go on a mission.

I'd been pretty quiet in the meeting up to this point. The whole thing was awfully intimidating, but when the Director put his deal forward, I couldn't hold back and blurted out, "Here are some conditions, no wet work, no seduction, Sarah and I are a team and, finally, we have the right to refuse to take up a mission."

Sarah and the Director looked a little taken aback by my outburst. But I wasn't going to back down. I clenched my jaw and looked the Director in the eye, while my leg under the table was jumping up and down.

The silence that followed was only seconds but it seemed a hell of a lot longer.

Finally the Director sat back. He looked at Sarah then at me. "Agent Walker, Mr. Bartwoski, I'll accept those terms."

He then turned his focus onto Sarah. 'Agent Walker, you've been at the tip of the CIA spear for many years and have done all that we asked while being in harm's way. I think it's time for others to learn from your experience. I was thinking that at least one week a year you could help us out at the Farm."

In return for us agreeing to this deal, the Director said that he and General Beckman might be able to steer some business to our new company.

Between you and me, I think Sarah was quite happy with the outcome of the meeting. I'm still not sure about having any connection with the CIA or the NSA, but like I said these are powerful people.

So the next big hurdle in front of us as we head to Burbank is to smooth the waters between Sarah and Ellie. Sarah and I have worked out a reasonable story about how we got back together again and we've tried to put into the story as many snippets of the truth as we possibly can.

But I'm worried because there are two whole years of lies that Ellie and Devon still believe about Sarah and me and our fake relationship.

Ellie still thinks Sarah was this smart, beautiful girl who worked at the Orange-Orange and was really into her little brother.

Before Sarah left, Ellie had really thought that Sarah was going to become the sister she never had.

Is Ellie pissed off with Sarah? Oh, yes! When I called Ellie and Devon two days ago and told them that I'd met Sarah several weeks ago in Bern and we were now engaged, there was this long, long silence on the other end of the phone and then in an exasperated tone Ellie blurted out, "Chuck I thought you'd finally moved on in your life. Are you sure Sarah's the right girl for you? I mean, how do you know she's over Bruce or Bryan or whatever the hell his name was?"

Sarah was listening to the call and winced when she heard Ellie's exasperated outburst.

Can Sarah and I make this right between her and Ellie? I really hope so because I don't want to be the guy who got the girl of his dreams and in the bargain became estranged from his sister.

Sarah called Ellie yesterday and set up a meeting just between the two of them.

I have my doubts about this strategy and really think I should be there, you know, just in case things get a little out of hand. But Sarah said no way and was adamant that this is between her and Ellie. If she can win Ellie over, then Devon won't be a problem.

Well, now you're up to date … so wish us luck!

 **Next day -Bergamot Café, Santa Monica- 1:15pm**

Sarah knew of this café from a previous mission five years ago.

She grabbed a table that was near a red brick wall and tucked away in the corner. It would give them a little bit of privacy for their talk. Sarah was wearing a yellow and blue summer dress with thin straps along with flats.

Her hair was loose so it could fall onto her bare shoulders, she called this her soft look.

Sarah and Chuck had worked out a very detailed story about why she'd left Burbank and what she'd been doing prior to meeting Chuck again in Bern. They'd both been very careful to minimize the lies along with omitting certain facts that she couldn't share with Ellie.

Sarah didn't bite her nails and she didn't chew gum to deal with her nervousness. In spite of the outward appearance of utter calm, she was extremely agitated and was nibbling the inside of her lip and tapping her toes under the table.

Sarah made a solemn vow to herself that she would not start off life being with Chuck and having Ellie hating her.

Ellie came into the café and quickly looked around and spotted Sarah in the corner. Good she thought, the table will afford us some privacy. She was wearing a light green dress with a halter top.

Sarah closely watched Ellie's entrance and her movements as she approached the table.

Ellie was a beautiful woman, she was two inches shorter than Sarah but still statuesque. Sarah had always loved Ellie's warm eyes, which were light brown with flecks of amber and gold revealing themselves in different shades of light.

As Ellie drew near, Sarah wasn't seeing a lot of warmth in Ellie's eyes. Sarah sighed to herself, this was going to be tough.

Brief hellos were exchanged with no hugs. Mercifully the waiter followed closely behind Ellie to take their drink order and give them the menus.

After he left, Ellie wasted no time. "Sarah, I thought you left Chuck to be with Bryan, or Bruce. What happened?"

Sarah was the one who could kill someone with her bare hands and therefore, in the grand scheme of things, the one to be feared. But now, at this precise moment, Sarah Walker was intimidated by the brunette sitting across from her.

She greatly respected Ellie Bartowski for her intelligence, her resourcefulness and because she'd held the family together after her father left them high and dry. Sarah knew that Ellie was her equal when it came to caring for and feeling protective towards Chuck.

Sarah cleared her throat. "Things between Bruce and me were never really going to work. I think I knew that when I left Burbank …"

Ellie almost snarled the response. "If you knew that, why on earth did you leave Chuck, leave our family?"

Sarah blinked when Ellie used the term 'our family'. She sighed, remembering that, for a short and wonderful time in her life, she'd been a welcome member of the Bartowski's, time for some truth. "Because I was terrified of making the commitment that Chuck wanted me to make. He wanted me to be with him … you know, like you and Devon?"

The waiter interrupted the conversation again and took their orders, and then melted into the background as if he'd never been there.

Ellie turned her head slightly and took a sip of her wine and as she did so Sarah tried to read her mood and body language.

Sarah Walker had been under the severe tutelage of Jack Burton and had learned early in life to read people.

Jack Burton always had a very specific agenda and so he taught her to look for greed, avarice, envy, anger, a need for revenge and especially naivety. All necessary feelings and emotions if you were going to con them out of their hard earned money.

Later Sarah had honed these basic skills to a very high degree with the help of the CIA. She now could read people in order to determine if she was wining them over, if they were starting to trust her.

Her life often depended on accurately reading the marks, the assets and other agents correctly.

Sarah looked at Ellie and what she saw was skepticism and a distinct lack of trust. Shit!

It was almost like Ellie was reading Sarah's mind because she leaned forward. "People don't usually view me as naïve, but when it came to you and Chuck I now know I was."

Sarah sat back in her chair and the little hairs on the back of her neck tingled. The conversation had just taken a turn that made her exceedingly nervous. She waited.

Ellie sat back and took a large sip of her wine as if to gain some liquid courage.

"Three weeks after you left Burbank, Chuck was struggling to break out of his dark mood and I think some depression. All I had from you was a small card saying how sorry you were that things hadn't worked out with Chuck and that you were headed back to D.C.

"I needed to find out what really happened between the two of you.

"So, I tried to find you."

Sarah gulped because she knew how impossible that would be for any lay person to track her down once she left Burbank. Ellie moved her chair closer to the table and leaned in.

"Devon had done a high risk triple by-pass on a retired detective named David Williams. Going into the operation Devon had carefully explained to David and the family that it was a 50-50 chance the operation would work.

"Devon did a great job and the operation was a success. He and his family were very grateful to Devon. So, we reached out to David for some help.

"He said the starting point was your DMV record. I also gave him some photographs of you and Chuck."

Ellie paused and carefully looked across at Sarah. Sarah made her face into a neutral mask. "So, Sarah guess what? There was no record of a Sarah Walker that looked like you ever having been in the California DMV, none. David asked me if I was sure. I told him that I'd seen your license several times when we were out together shopping."

Sarah took a sip of her wine and shrugged her shoulders as if to say I don't understand? How could that be?

Ellie continued, "David also told me that one day after he'd carried out his search, his former boss, the Chief of Detectives for Los Angeles, called him and suggested that he might want to drop any further inquiries about Sarah Walker. He also said the magic words 'National Security' to David."

Sarah finally spoke but there was a hitch in her voice that Ellie caught.

"So, what did you and David do?"

Ellie gave Sarah a ghost of a smile. "I stopped asking and so did David because something was terribly odd and a little intimidating. David was very nervous."

"You know Sarah, when you came into Chuck's life I was so relieved that he'd gotten together with someone so special, so beautiful, that I didn't look too closely at certain things. You see, I've always believed that Chuck deserved someone special in his life because he's such a good, kind and intelligent man. So I didn't consider it strange you would like my brother and want to be with him."

Sarah chimed in. "Ellie, you weren't wrong. I've always believed that Chuck is a special kind of man, and I always felt I was the lucky one to be in his company and that maybe he deserved someone better than me."

Ellie cocked her head to the left and fixed Sarah with a penetrating gaze.

At that moment, the waiter arrived with their food and the conversation ceased while both ladies were lost in their thoughts as they ate.

It was Ellie who took up the conversation. "Sarah, I never really seriously questioned why a girl working for less than $20 an hour could drive a $100,000 Porsche. I mean, to put new tires on that car would take what, three months of your wages?

"I never gave it a second thought that you lived for almost two years in a hotel that cost $200 a night. And by the way, I'm not a fashionista but I do recognize Manolo Blahnik shoes and Prada handbags. Hell, even though I can afford it, even I don't own a Prada handbag."

Ellie leaned forward. "So, tell me Sarah, what's the answers to all my questions about you? Who the hell are you really? Because you sure aren't merely a dispenser of deep fried wieners and yogurt! And why were you in Chuck's life? "

Sarah stared at Ellie and she knew for certain that the entire story she and Chuck had rehearsed was now useless. In the twenty seconds of silence that held sway over the table she made a decision that could put Ellie, Devon, Chuck and her at risk.

But lies are like a silent cancer that can sit for years, dormant and seemingly benign. Then one day unexpectedly they emerge and destroy in minutes what it took years to build up.

Sarah reached for her purse and took out a $100 bill and left it on the table. "Ellie, I need to show you somewhere special to me and we need a private place for me to answer some of your questions. I took a taxi here, can we go in your car?"

Ellie's eyes widened and she started to feel nervous. She wasn't sure she wanted to know the truth, but it was too late for all that. She'd been the one who'd started this line of inquiry and she meant to get some answers.

As Ellie pulled away from the curb, she reminded Sarah to buckle up her seat belt.

Sarah quickly buckled up and told Ellie to head for Cabrillo Beach, near the pier. Ellie nodded that she knew where that was. Ellie and Chuck had gone there any number of times over the years. When there dad had left them. Money had always been tight, so going to the beach was a cheap way for them to have some fun.

Once they'd parked the car, Sarah and Ellie walked side by side in silence. Sarah led them to one particular spot. When they arrived, Sarah looked at Ellie and then sat down with her hands resting on her knees and stared out into the Pacific. Ellie was now beyond curious and several times bit her tongue in order not to speak. She wanted to give Sarah lots of space to speak.

It was the longest two minutes of Ellie's life, as she waited for Sarah to gather her thoughts, calm herself and begin.

Finally, Sarah turned towards Ellie. "This is a very special place for Chuck and me. In fact, it was in this exact place I made one of the most important decisions of my life. It was to protect your brother and look after him.

"Ellie, what I'm going to tell you stays between you, me and Chuck. You can't share any of this, even with Devon. I know that's not fair because he's your husband. Maybe down the road we can share some of it with him, but for now that's the way it has to be." Sarah looked at Ellie.

Ellie took a minute to think about whether she should agree, but her curiosity and the gravity in Sarah's voice convinced her. She gave Sarah the slightest nod of her head.

Sarah told Ellie a lot of the truth but, of course, not the whole truth.

She told Ellie she was a CIA agent and who John Casey was. She didn't tell Ellie about the Intersect and if she could help it, she never would.

She didn't tell Ellie about her father being Orion because that wasn't her story to tell.

The story Ellie heard was that Chuck was one of the elite hackers in the world and that he'd come to the notice of the Intelligence community. Her job and Casey's job was to protect Chuck and keep him safe, while he helped them with his special skills.

It was essential to keep Chuck out of the arms of other intelligence organizations and nations that would want to capture him and use the knowledge he possessed for their own purposes.

Ellie asked questions along the way and Sarah answered them as truthfully as she could. Ellie at one point asked, "You mean Chuck is really that good with computers? I mean better than people working in the CIA and NSA?"

Sarah smiled. "Ellie, we both agree that Chuck is a brilliant guy. So, believe me when I say, yes he can do some things that no one in the entire world could do."

When Sarah finished telling Ellie a revised version of her two years in Burbank, the sun was much lower over the Pacific.

Ellie stretched and was frankly amazed at what Sarah had just shared. She was sorry she'd agreed not to tell Devon.

"So, your relationship with Chuck was fake?" There was a hint of anger in Ellie's tone.

Sarah sighed. "At first, yes it was a cover. But not for long. I fell in love with him in spite of strict policies and my better professional judgment. When I left Burbank I was still in love with him.

"You asked me why I left. Believe me it wasn't for another man. There were a lot of reasons….well, more like excuses really, but it was never about another man. Chuck had my heart, but I had a job. And at that point in my life, I wasn't willing to give it all up."

Ellie's eyes were smiling, because the one thing she used to believe was that Sarah Walker had been deeply in love with her brother. It had been obvious to anyone who saw them together. That's why she'd been so confused when Sarah had left all of a sudden never to be heard from again.

"So, Sarah, you said you've resigned from the CIA?" Sarah nodded yes.

"And you're both coming back here to live?" Another nod from Sarah.

"Final question, at least for now. You and Chuck are really engaged?" Sarah held up her wrist and gave Ellie a dazzling smile. Ellie saw her mother's bracelet as the fading sunlight made it sparkle.

A smile slowly spread over Ellie's face and she slowly leaned over and gave Sarah a hug.

"Sarah Walker, welcome back into the Bartowski family. And I'd better be in the bridal party when you finally set the date."

The End.


End file.
